Tumaini Festival set for November
The Tumaini Festival, which debuted last year and is organised by Dzaleka Cultural Association, will be held on November 6 and 7 this year at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa.
Writer, poet and musician Menes la Plume confirmed the development yesterday, saying having successfully held the festival last year, the event is back.
“I hope to get sponsorship for this year’s Tumaini Festival and I am just keeping my fingers crossed. Again I just want to appeal to the corporate world out there to help us because this is the platform for showcasing talent and promoting culture,” he said.
Menes said having gained experience last year, the show will bring out more goodies this year, adding that it will feature music, film, poetry and many other artistic fields.
“We will have the main stage and another stage as well as a space for children. The festival will bring artists from all the corners of Malawi and this will really be a Malawi celebration in the United Nation of Dzaleka,” said the poet.
Last year the festival was supported by several organisations, including Lake of Stars Festival organisers, who are also set to hold their own festival at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi from September 25-27.
This is a free festival which brings on board several activities from music, traditional dances and poetry.
According to the organisers, Tumaini is a Swahili word which means hope.
Dzaleka is a refugee camp with a population of 20,000 refugees and asylum seekers from mainly the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi and a small number of people from Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
“Tumaini Festival is an idea that came in mind after observing that refugees are not really understood in Malawi, they are called ‘Maburundi’. To promote better understanding I came up with this festival and I want through this platform for everyone to go visit the refugee camp and meet refugees, appreciate their creativity and interact,” he said.
Menes observed that it is always difficult to raise money for culture and that last year he raised the bigger part of the budget from friends.
A vibrant writer who gives a great insight on hot topics and issues
