Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Exchange Volunteer from Senegal Mr. Alpha Ba

Looking through the window, I saw human beings; I saw a lady passing with a bucket full of water on her head going to bathe, wash plates, clean the house, or even drink. Who knows?

Looking through the window, I saw children playing between them in all innocence. Some may have been born in the refugee camp, some not. They completely ignore the reasons why they are in Dzaleka. They do not even care as long as they live in peace.

Looking through the window, I saw children who would become teenagers. Some will have the chance to be admitted to school, others, even most, will always stay in this space, maybe not to play again, but unfortunately to “wander”. Either they do not have the means to pay the registration fees for school, or there are no places available for them to learn because of the plethoric number of students.

Looking through the window, I sat in a building that serves as a classroom that was built by a volunteer from an NGO working in this area. Two classes and one office being used as a preschool with the number of students approaching 40. A staff, consisting of all refugees and volunteers, providing education despite the meager means they have. It’s because they already understood Nelson’s words that are quoted, “education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”. Despite their precarious situations, they already know that if they sacrifice for the education of these children, their future will improve and one day they will bring a positive change to their community.

Looking through the window, I call on all those who read this text to take a minute and put themselves in the shoes of a refugee to empathize. Afterwards, I call for your help. I call for your support for these refugees from Dzaleka to find hope, to give them the chance to go to school, to live as a normal child, as a normal teenager, as a normal adult. “Being a refugee is not inability.”