Reported by Mustapha Omolabake Omowumi, Managing Editor | Sele Media Malawi.
DZALEKA, Malawi — The 2026 edition of the Tumaini Festival, one of Malawi’s most prominent platforms for cultural exchange between refugees and host communities, has been cancelled after organisers failed to secure sufficient funding to stage the annual event at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District.
The cancellation represents a significant setback for refugees, artists, entrepreneurs and members of surrounding host communities who have come to regard the festival not simply as an entertainment event, but as an important platform for cultural expression, social interaction, economic participation and the promotion of peaceful coexistence.
Tumaini Letu Head of Programmes Bryce Chawiya confirmed the cancellation in an interview with Times360 Malawi, explaining that the organisation had been unable to mobilise enough financial resources to hold the festival this year.
According to Chawiya, however, the cancellation is not intended to mark the end of the festival. Tumaini Letu has already begun mobilising resources and exploring funding opportunities with the aim of bringing the event back in 2027.
The development comes at a time when Tumaini Festival has established itself as an important part of Malawi’s cultural calendar and has gained recognition beyond the country for its distinctive approach to refugee inclusion through the arts.
Funding challenge brings 2026 festival to a halt
For an event that has historically depended on a combination of fundraising, grants, partnerships and other forms of financial support, the failure to secure adequate resources has once again demonstrated the vulnerability of large community-based cultural programmes to funding pressures.
The cancellation also echoes challenges Tumaini Festival has experienced in previous years.
In 2022, for example, organisers publicly appealed for financial assistance after the festival faced possible cancellation because of inadequate funding. The appeal attracted support from individuals and organisations, eventually allowing that edition to proceed.
Nation Online reported at the time that the festival relied substantially on crowdfunding and grant applications, with additional support eventually helping organisers meet the required budget.
The experience demonstrated both the popularity of the event and the financial uncertainty surrounding its annual organisation.
This year, however, efforts to secure enough funding did not produce the resources required to proceed.
For Tumaini Letu, cancelling the festival rather than staging an inadequately funded event is likely to have been a difficult organisational decision, given the number of artists, vendors, volunteers, service providers and community members who depend on the event for opportunities.
The organisation has therefore turned its attention towards 2027, with Chawiya indicating that resource mobilisation is already underway.
More than entertainment for Dzaleka
Tumaini Festival has grown considerably since it was founded in 2014 by Congolese refugee, poet and musician Trésor Nzengu Mpauni, popularly known as Menes La Plume.
The festival was created to provide a space where refugees could showcase their talents and cultures alongside Malawian and international artists.
Over the years, the event has featured music, traditional performances, dance, poetry, theatre, film, visual arts and other forms of creative expression.
Its importance, however, extends beyond performances on stage.
Tumaini Letu describes the festival as a mechanism for promoting economic, social and cultural inclusion of refugees in Malawi. The organisation’s broader work includes entrepreneurship, creative skills development, community tourism and storytelling initiatives.
The festival provides an opportunity for people from different nationalities and backgrounds to interact in an environment where cultural differences are presented as a source of learning rather than division.
This is particularly relevant in Dzaleka, which hosts refugees and asylum seekers from several countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and other parts of Africa.
Through music, dance, food, language, clothing, poetry and storytelling, the festival has created opportunities for residents to present their identities while also engaging with Malawian communities.
A platform for social cohesion
One of Tumaini Festival’s defining objectives has been to strengthen relationships between refugees and their host communities.
Refugee populations can sometimes experience social isolation, stereotyping and limited opportunities to interact meaningfully with surrounding communities.
Tumaini provides a different setting.
Rather than portraying refugees primarily through the lens of humanitarian need, the festival creates a public platform through which they can be seen as artists, entrepreneurs, performers, organisers, workers and contributors to Malawi’s cultural life.
The Times Group has previously reported that the festival uses artistic expression to promote mutual understanding and intercultural harmony between refugees and host communities.
That role makes the cancellation of the 2026 edition more consequential than the loss of a conventional annual entertainment programme.
For many participants, the festival represents one of the rare occasions when people from different communities converge in Dzaleka around a shared cultural experience.
The event has also provided a space where Malawian artists and refugee performers can share stages, collaborate and develop professional relationships.
Economic opportunities also affected
The financial implications of the cancellation extend beyond artists and organisers.
Previous editions have created opportunities for vendors, food sellers, craft producers, transport operators, hospitality providers, guides, performers and other small-scale businesses.
Tumaini Letu has reported that the festival contributes substantially to economic activity in Dzaleka, with the event attracting visitors who spend money on food, crafts, accommodation, transportation and other services.
The organisation says its wider programmes also create business and employment opportunities for refugees.
Its official information indicates that the Dzaleka Homestay Programme, for example, allows visitors to stay with refugee families while providing income to participating households.
The festival therefore functions as part of a wider community-based economic ecosystem.
When thousands of visitors gather at Dzaleka for several days, businesses and service providers have the opportunity to access customers who may not otherwise travel to the settlement.
The cancellation means those opportunities will not materialise in 2026.
For small businesses and individual entrepreneurs who may have planned around the event, the development could therefore have practical financial consequences.
A festival that has put Dzaleka on the cultural map
Tumaini Festival has also helped challenge perceptions of Dzaleka.
For years, refugee settlements have often been discussed predominantly in relation to displacement, humanitarian assistance, poverty, food insecurity and protection concerns.
Tumaini has provided an alternative narrative centred on creativity, resilience, talent and community participation.
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation reported in 2024, ahead of the festival’s 10th anniversary, that the event had become an important platform for promoting intercultural harmony, economic empowerment and artistic expression at Dzaleka.
The festival has also received international attention.
In April 2026, Nation Online reported that Tumaini Letu was among recipients of the 2026 Ockenden International Prizes, which recognise innovative approaches to improving the self-reliance and inclusion of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people.
The recognition underscored the distinctive character of the Tumaini model, particularly its use of arts and culture to promote dignity, inclusion and opportunity.
The festival’s international profile has consequently become an important part of how Dzaleka and Malawi are represented to audiences beyond the country.
Recognition comes amid financial pressure
The cancellation of the 2026 edition presents an unusual contrast.
On one hand, Tumaini Letu has continued to receive recognition for the festival’s contribution to refugee inclusion and cultural exchange.
On the other, the organisation has struggled to secure the resources necessary to maintain the event annually.
That contrast highlights a broader challenge faced by community-led cultural initiatives: recognition does not automatically translate into sustainable financing.
Awards can raise visibility and credibility, but festivals of this scale still require predictable financial resources for logistics, stage infrastructure, security, artist support, transportation, communications, accommodation, sanitation and other operational requirements.
For a free festival such as Tumaini, the funding challenge can be even more significant because organisers cannot rely primarily on ticket revenue to cover costs.
The event’s free-access model has helped make it accessible to refugees, local residents and visitors, but it also places greater importance on donors, partners, sponsors, grants and fundraising.
Previous funding difficulties offer important lessons
The 2022 experience offers a clear illustration of the problem.
At the time, Nation Online reported that organisers had nearly cancelled the festival after failing to secure sufficient funding. A subsequent fundraising effort attracted support that allowed the event to continue.
That history indicates that funding instability is not a new problem for Tumaini Festival.
However, repeated funding uncertainty can make long-term planning difficult.
A festival that must repeatedly depend on last-minute fundraising may face difficulties securing artists, developing infrastructure, engaging partners and planning community programmes well in advance.
The decision by Tumaini Letu to begin mobilisation for 2027 therefore points to the importance of securing funding earlier and developing a more sustainable financial model.
What the 2027 return could mean
The planned return of Tumaini Festival in 2027 will likely depend on the organisation’s ability to mobilise sufficient resources and partnerships.
A successful comeback could provide an opportunity not only to restore the annual cultural celebration but also to strengthen the festival’s long-term sustainability.
Potential areas for consideration include multi-year sponsorship agreements, institutional partnerships, philanthropic support, cultural grants, corporate social responsibility programmes and structured crowdfunding.
Such approaches could reduce the festival’s exposure to annual funding uncertainty.
The organisers may also have an opportunity to build on the international recognition Tumaini has received and use that visibility to broaden its funding base.
At the same time, any future financing model would need to preserve the festival’s refugee-led identity and its commitment to cultural inclusion.
The strength of Tumaini has always been its ability to bring different communities together rather than simply presenting another commercial entertainment event.
The wider significance for Malawi
The cancellation also raises a wider question about how Malawi supports cultural initiatives that contribute to social cohesion.
Arts and cultural programmes are sometimes treated as secondary to other development priorities. Yet events such as Tumaini can contribute to tourism, small-business activity, community engagement, youth development and international visibility.
The festival’s history suggests that cultural programming can also serve as a tool for addressing misconceptions about displaced populations.