IAFR in Dzaleka

Growth and development as leaders happens in different ways. It can come from formal education all the way through advanced studies and degrees, and it can come from mentors who guide and push us to grow and excel in our work. But it can also come from cross-cultural exchanges, where leaders come together around a table and talk about lessons they have learned, challenges they have faced, and how their own community is responding to modern day issues.

This kind of leadership exchange is a critical part of our visits to Dzaleka. Through these interactions, growth and development happens for both us and our refugee church partners. It happens through story-telling, laughter, and tears. It happens through formal times of training and discussion, where we share the responsibility forteaching and facilitating discussion together. And it happens between friends in one-on-one conversations, in the quiet corner of church in a forgotten part of the world. As we look forward to visiting Dzaleka again, we do so in part because of the leadership exchanges and the things we learn from our refugee friends.

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not been able to visit our refugee partners in Dzaleka in nearly 2 years. Although we have continued to walk hand-in-hand with them during this time, we have always longed to see each other face to face. In normal circumstances, we hope and plan to visit Dzaleka at least twice in each calendar year, and we are excited that the doors have opened for us to hopefully visit again in October and November of this year. We will be closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and guidelines of both the US, Malawi, and the UNHCR in Dzaleka, but as it stands now, we are moving ahead in faith that these 2 visits can happen.

Our visit in October will be focused on spending time with our refugee church partners. These churches have carried a heavy burden in the community over the past year, providing physical, spiritual, and emotional care for families during the pandemic. We look forward to worshiping together, praying together, and even lamenting together at what has been lost. Our November visit will be focused on continuing to invest in trauma counseling and trauma recovery in the refugee community. We hope to provide more updates to the blog during each of these trips.

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