Dzaleka, Malawi’s first refugee camp, is about 25 miles north of the capital Lilongwe. Built 25 years ago in response to a surge of people fleeing genocide and wars in Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was then home to between 10,000 and 14,000 refugees. But the camp now houses more than 48,000 people from east and southern African countries – four times more than its initial capacity.

Their stories were not good to hear. Among the atrocities committed were houses, school, and other privates and public properties, the scared believes of the people burnt, destroyed, vandalized and looted. The human right of the people completely disregarded. People were killed, hand chopped off, stripped naked, force to eat their feces and drink their urine, flock publicly and used as labor gang. Raping and force marriages were the order of the day.

Due to the above backdrop, Bandu Initiatives thought of giving back hope to the community by doing the following:-

·The Organization agreed that, they would work in collaboration   with the local community in the implementation of the project.

·Livestock (small ruminants), which were owned by participants,   have been completely looted by the rebels during the war.

·There is no livestock available within the communities.

·Access to livestock is limited because of lack of funds.

The very essence Hope initiatives was formed is to intervene to alleviate the communities’ dire needs. The project package also serves as a means of replacement of lost livestock. Since the farm families lack funds and alternative resources to purchase them, this will give back livestock to the participants who have lost everything in life.