Organisers of Tumaini Festival say all is set for this year’s event which is scheduled to take place at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa on Saturday November 4.
Tumaini Festival founder and director, Tresor Nzenga Mpauni said Tumaini Festival is a free annual music and cultural festival which is aimed at bringing joy and hope to refugees.
“Apart from bringing joy, the festival also wishes to promote the refugee camp as a place of unity, peace, coexistence and harmony. We want to make it a place where people can live happily and expose things they are capable of doing,” he said.
Mpauni, who is popularly known as Menes La Plume, said this year, the festival is bringing together 45 acts and people will experience exceptional music performances, poetry, theatre, acrobatics, traditional dances, traditional food and art exhibitions.
The artists expected to perform include Tay Grin, Code Sangala, Annemarie Quinn from UK, Lyco and Kaka Fulaha from Japan, Ernest Ikwanga, Chanco travelling theatre, Bucci, Find Code, Hazel Mak, Mubanga Band, Waliko Makhala, Agorosso, Malala, Robert Chiwamba, Nyamalikiti Nthiwatiwa, Dj Nathan Tunes, Menes la Plume, Etoile de la Paix, Tigris, KBG, Fusion Africa, Amahoro Drummers, Solomonic Peacocks Theatre and many more.
According to the organisers, the 2017 edition is expected to attract more than 7 000 people.
One of the artists on the menu poet Robert Chiwamba said he is prepared to give patrons the best.
“I am more than prepared to give the best performance at Dzaleka Refugee Camp. We need to show our friends that Malawi is a good place to stay. Let’s show them love and give them hope,” he said.
Tumaini Festival presents a unique opportunity to support an innovative cultural event, developed and delivered by refugees and Malawians to promote intercultural harmony through entertainment and artistic expression.
This year’s festival is being supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Plan Malawi, Klaus Corp Media, US Embassy, Germany Embassy, Music Crossroads, Rainbow TV and Lake of Stars and many others.
