A gust of wind lifts the roof of a refugee's home

Dzaleka refugee camp, Malawi, is where 11,000 refugees call their thatched mud brick huts home. They pile rocks, wood, old tires -whatever they can find- on their roofs, hoping that they won't blow off when the winds and rains come.

Innocent Magambi was a refugee in Dzaleka. He told how a downpour once destroyed the roof over his head. He pulled a small table to a dry corner where what was left of the roof offered some protection from the elements. He placed his few possessions under it, sat down and wept. Innocent's home was no match for the wind and rain. The roof blew off and the mud walls melted away.

When asked how he felt at that moment, I expected him to say helpless or hopeless. But his answer went deeper than that. He said, "I felt forgotten".

Innocent's story highlights the profound need for the church at large to come alongside of our forcibly displaced brothers and sisters and break their isolation. IAFR exists to help make that happen.
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Innocent is no longer a refugee. By God's grace and calling, he has gone on to found There Is Hope, a Christian non-profit serving refugees in Dzaleka with whom IAFR is partnering in ministry.

*Listen to more of Innocent's story online at www.iafr.org.