24 days and counting...

During the last couple of years of my undergraduate degree I found myself wondering what it would be like to experience life as a refugee in the field. I wondered what it would be like to lose everything and have limited resources to live by, how difficult it would be to have little access to water, or to fathom the daily food ration, to have limited control over what you need or want. I wondered about the UNHCR's role in managing the worlds many camps and how it's rolled out logistically. I wondered how the humanitarian enterprise functioned especially in the event of war, who received what, how much and by who? And what political interests pulled countries together or drove them apart. I will soon have answers to these curiosities.

Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi will be my first experience with this reality.

~ 10,000 refugees.

This is nothing compared to some of the worlds largest camps located in Kenya but these people have suffered nonetheless. Refugees have fled their countries and are temporarily residing in Malawi until refugee status is granted, they repatriate home or integrate into communities in Malawi.

I hope to understand how NGO's work together to manage the needs of thousands in a camp setting and with great intention, will honor the value of education in communities that will one day be integrated into ours.