Collaboration is a central value to our organizational culture. We strongly believe that we have much to learn from those around us in all spheres of our work. In my role as donor engagement specialist, I am responsible for refining our Vision Trips and supporting transformative experiences around the world. In August, I had the joy of visiting Malawi with HOPE International, a fellow faith-based nonprofit, to gain a different perspective on Vision Trips and deepen collaboration between our two organizations.
On one of my final days traveling with HOPE, our Vision Trip group spent time with a savings group in Dzaleka refugee camp. About 25 miles outside of Lilongwe, Dzaleka is home to 53,000 refugees and asylum seekers. A protracted camp, it was founded 30 years ago and has evolved into a labyrinth of mudbrick structures with sheet metal roofs, small corner stores selling baggies of soap and maize, and the occasional building where larger NGOs have set up shop. A ubiquitous layer of red dust coats every surface in the bounds of the camp. Lines of people wind around soccer fields and tents for rations. There is no shade. Upon entering the camp, one immediately has the sense that generations have been realized there.
Amidst these circumstances, HOPE International has begun a savings group within the camp. After walking through a maze of seven-foot-tall structures and eroded dirt paths, our group entered a small church, where 35 members (mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo) greeted us with singing and dancing. This particular group invests in supplies to make soap to sell within the camp, which can be used for dishes, surface cleaner, and shampoo alike. After the savings portion of the meeting, they proudly moved an assortment of buckets and solutions into the center of our circle to demonstrate the soap-making process.
While the demonstration took place, I noticed a woman draw close to me in my periphery. After a few moments, she said in a low tone, “I like your skirt, it's really sharp.” I turned to meet Gloria, a young woman with large, wide-set eyes and high cheekbones, a few inches shorter than me. I thanked her and asked her more about how long she’d been a group member. She began to tell me her story (in fluent English): how she and her husband, along with their four children had fled from violence in the DRC. She left her siblings and parents behind and arrived at Dzaleka around a year and a half ago, joining the savings group shortly after. She has an 11 month old son, who was quietly babbling in the corner with the other children. Gloria also cares for her diabetic husband, whose condition is so dire that he is bedridden most days, leaving her the sole breadwinner of the family.
There was something so visceral about standing eye-to-eye with her. Without the buffer of a translator or a mutual connection, there was nothing in the air between us except her words and mine. I realized that, in my past experiences with people in similar situations, the language barrier and presence of a translator has acted as an intellectual and emotional buffer in the interaction. Subconsciously, I have been present in these situations like a spectator at a stage play—present, but more or less unimpacted. This was different. I saw and understood that we were about the same age. I not only knew factually but also felt deeply that she was my equal, and could even be a friend. I had no inability to comprehend the full weight of her story; nothing was lost in translation. I told her I was sorry. She told me: “Do not forget us here.”
There are many things I am really grateful for and still processing from my time with HOPE International. This moment is at the top of the list for me. In my role, I get to see U.S. partners come back from the field as deeper advocates for rural farming families. This time, I was among those returning home with a story to tell. We talk about “partners, not projects” a lot here—it is a cornerstone of our work. I think the special thing about Vision Trips is that they help allow that phrase to shift from your head to your heart. If you’re intrigued about joining us on a trip, I invite you to come and journey with us. From one traveler to another, you won’t regret it.
