“Without hope, you die.” These are words I have heard in nearly every refugee camp I have been to, including Dzaleka. In refugee camps, hope has a strange way of becoming tangible; there are times when I swear you can see it on people’s faces. But finding hope, or building and rebuilding hope is not easy, and there is not a standard ‘one size fits all’ model that one can use. It is especially hard when your story is full of past trauma, and your current reality is one of toxic stress. This is the story of many who walk the refugee highway in Dzaleka.

We have found the Healing the Wounds of Trauma materials, produced by the American Bible Society, to be a powerful tool in helping refugees find and build hope. Over the past two years, we have been partnering with a group of refugee leaders, as well as There Is Hope, to foster ‘healing groups’ in the camp where people can come to identify and understand past traumas in their life, and begin the process of healing and recovery in a culturally sensitive and appropriate context. Strengthening emotional well-being in this manner is essential to long-term recovery, and this is one way IAFR is pursuing such opportunities in Malawi.

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