Listen to a Story
How to Listen?
Start by reading a story description
Click “Listen Now” to download an audio file of the individual interview.
You can just listen to the story from the comfort of your own home, but we recommend taking a solitary walk. Listening while on an intimate, physical journey is a powerful way to grow a human connection with the storytellers.
After the story, we invite you to email malawiprojects@pennington.org about your listening experience. What did you learn? What new questions do you have? We will add your reflections to our blog.
If you would like to further support ongoing projects in Malawi, feel free to make a donation.
Season Two - 2023
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Moise: I Want My Name to Contain Dr. (33 min.)
Meet Moise. He’s an 18-year-old student who has lived in Dzaleka. Moise came to Dzeleka from Burundi when he was 10 to run away from war. In this interview, he introduces some aspects of tribal culture in Burundi as well as in Dzeleka. Moise likes to sing in a school choir with his friends, and he enjoys chemistry and biology. He wants to get a higher education in STEM fields, aiming for a better life with hard work.
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Vanessa: They Tell Me That I Should Work Hard (21 min.)
Meet 16-year-old Vanessa. She is a Malawian living in Dzaleka with her aunt who is a teacher. She decided to live in Dzaleka because the schools are better than in her village, and she can go to the schools for free. Her family lives in a village and she visits them during holidays. Her mom is her role model. Vanessa loves to sing and listen to music. She dreams of being selected to study in China and becoming a doctor.
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Baruwani: It Makes You Forget the Things That Happened (25 min.)
Meet Baruwani, an 18-year-old student whose family fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo due to warfare. He lives with his father, older brother, and younger sister. Before coming to Malawi, he also lived in Burundi for a short period of time. In school, Baruwani likes physics, history, and geography. He’s played soccer his entire life, and Messi is one of his favorite role models.
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Tinashe: They Just Want Me to Fulfill My Wishes (11 min.)
Meet Tinashe. She is a 14-year-old Malawian living in Dzaleka with her family. She has two sisters. Her family moved to Dzaleka from Lilongwe last year after her father got a job at the camp. She loves school because she learns new things. She wants to be a doctor. She shares what it was like moving to the camp and meeting new people in a culturally diverse community. The water shortage and teens engaging in high-risk behavior are two of the problems she sees at the camp. Her favorite holiday is Christmas because it is the celebration of the Lord being born.
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Barabara: I Am Happiest When I'm With Friends and Family (18 min.)
Meet Barabara. He’s an 18-year-old student who has lived in Dzaleka since he was 6. He and his family came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but he has very few memories of his home country due to leaving at a young age. Barabara enjoys poetry, politics, talking with his friends, and sharing a good meal. He is incredibly grateful for the free education that Dzaleka has been able to provide, and after school, he dreams of being involved in business and entrepreneurship to support his family.
Season One - 2022
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HP: One Day I Wish to Be There (35 min.)
Meet HP, a 16-year-old poet living in Dzaleka. He is originally from DRC. He uses poetry to express what life is like for refugees, and he often delivers his poems “Slam Poetry” style in his community. He traveled to Dzaleka 8 years ago when he was 8 years old with his auntie and grandmother. They were running from people who threatened to harm his family. While he feels safe living at Dzaleka, he feels it isn’t a place that can support the achievements of his dreams. He wants to be resettled in the USA because he believes it is a place where he can find work and feed his family. Poetry, reading, writing, and drawing make him happy. Listen to HP share an original poem and his love for learning.
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Hamidi: I'd Do Anything to Make Her Happy (16 min.)
Meet Hamidi. She’s 17 years old and arrived at Dzaleka from Somalia 6 years ago. Her family left Somalia to escape war. Due to war and the travel to Dzaleka, she missed two years of school. She now spends most of her time studying to catch up on her studies. Her mother is her role model because Hamidi has seen the sacrifices she has made for the family. Hamidi dreams of becoming a doctor and wants to make sure her mother has a good life.
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Daniel: I Have Something to Give to the World (22 min.)
Meet Daniel, he is 17 years old from the DRC. He has been living at the Dzaleka refugee camp for 7 years. He loves all academic subjects but especially physics even though he finds it hard. Daniel shares how he learned English and he talks about the value of spending time with people to get through hard times at the camp. For fun, he plays basketball and walks around the camp with his friend. His parents require him to be home each day by 6 p.m. unless he is fetching water. He dreams of getting an academic scholarship to Canada. He studies hard every day to work towards that dream.
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Bahati: Never Give Up (19 min.)
Meet Bahati. She’s 18 years old and lives at the Dzaleka refugee camp with her nine siblings, mother, and father, after leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her family was approved to immigrate to Australia before the pandemic hit, but currently, the program has been put on hold until Covid recedes. Bahati is a poet and a singer. Listen to her story, her inspirational poems, and her songbird voice.
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Samuel: Here, We Are Free (22 min.)
Meet Samuel. He’s 17 from DRC. He came to Dzaleka with his uncle and aunt. He left DRC after his family was attacked in the night in their home. His parents were killed. He has 10 siblings, and 5 traveled with him to the camp. He studies hard and is learning a lot about agriculture. He dreams of being a big supplier of tomatoes.