People1 min read
Divine Irakoze
Burundian refugee-rights and education advocate raised in Dzaleka who has organised youth support, written about displacement, and spoken at the United Nations.
Dzaleka Youth in Action
Divine Irakoze was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania to Burundian parents and moved with her family to Malawi in 2004. She grew up in Dzaleka and became involved in youth organising and refugee-rights advocacy.
A 2021 interview identified Irakoze as the founder and team leader of Dzaleka Youth in Action, a youth-led initiative supporting vulnerable children, young people, and older residents. The group organised household assistance during the COVID-19 period and advocated for greater access to education, work, and movement.
Writing and international advocacy
Irakoze contributed writing and interviews to the Dzaleka Art Project, including accounts of growing up under encampment restrictions and leaving Dzaleka to study international relations at Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2022.
In April 2025, she spoke at the United Nations Economic and Social Council Youth Forum in New York. BYU-Idaho’s student newspaper reported that she used the forum to discuss refugee education and the contribution refugees can make when they have access to opportunity.
References
Sources
- 1Divine Irakoze's journey from refugee to U.N. speaker
BYU-Idaho Scroll, 20 May 2025
- 2Divine Irakoze
Dzaleka Art Project, 2024
- 3Divine Irakoze Story: Set the world on fire
Dzaleka Online, 23 July 2021
Related entries
Education
Education in Dzaleka
Public, private, community, and post-secondary education in Dzaleka, including the Malawi curriculum and long-running scholarship and digital-learning programmes.
History
Refugee law and encampment policy in Malawi
The legal and policy framework that shapes residence, movement, education, work, and administration for refugees and asylum-seekers living at Dzaleka.
Institution
Refugee-led organisations in Dzaleka
Organisations founded or led by refugees that provide education, advocacy, technology, livelihoods, arts, protection, and mutual support within Dzaleka and beyond.
Place
Dzaleka Refugee Camp
A long-established refugee settlement in Dowa District, Malawi, opened in 1994 and now home to a large, multilingual community from the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.
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