When I try to describe Dzaleka Refugee Camp, the first word I think of is “dust”. When the wind picks up, the dust is inescapable, blowing through the camp, mixing with the hope and despair felt by the refugees here every day.

I arrived in Malawi in May last year to take a volunteer position with the higher education project run by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Dzaleka. The camp is located 45 minutes north-east of Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, and it is home to more than 30,000 refugees, primarily from the African Great Lakes region.