Inua Advocacy

Meet our founder, Innocent Magambi.

As a refugee from birth, Inua Advocacy (formerly Inua Consulting) founder Innocent Magambi survived on emergency food handouts for the first 27 years of his life until he was offered the opportunity of a college education. It was then that he channeled all his resources to improving living standards for people living inside and around Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi by founding non-profit There is Hope.

Innocent led There is Hope for fifteen years, impacting thousands of refugees and Malawians through educational scholarships, vocational training and job creation. A strong believer in healthy leadership succession, he recently left the non-profit, which now operates with a staff of 53 and a leadership team of local professionals.

Author of the book Refugee For Life, Innocent recounts not just his refugee journey, but the power of an individual to spark change for an entire community.

In addition to his lived experience both as a recipient of charity and an orchestrator of development, Innocent incorporates lessons learned from fellowship programs such as the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa and the African Visionary Fellowship by Segal Family Foundation.

A refugee rights activist at heart, Innocent enjoys inspiring people to see the bigger picture and to reach for their full potential.

Innocent is regularly invited to speak about his experience and initiatives at numerous venues including Oxford University and the World Communities Forum, He was recently featured on DW.com regarding the Dzaleka COVID-19 response.

Inua is a Kiswahili word that means lift, uplift, or raise.

Inua Advocacy is an independent entity that advocates for refugee rights in Malawi and beyond. Our vision is a world where no refugee is trapped in statelessness, and our mission is to ensure all stakeholders in refugee affairs act to promote sustainable solutions that uphold human rights. We advise governments on the development of healthy refugee policies centred on self-reliance, participation and sustainability, and deliver training to deserving grassroots organizations that are not yet financially viable.

“The road to poverty eradication is dotted with the efforts of engaged communities that create solutions to their own problems.”
Innocent Magambi

Watch a short video that will help you to better understand the context of our work.

Create accountability

We create accountability by acting as a watchdog for all stakeholders in the field of refugee affairs and to ensure their programs advance durable solutions, peaceful coexistence, and human dignity.

Lobby and campaign

We lobby and campaign for better laws for refugees and asylum seekers, and support governments and their partners to strategize and implement refugee integration plans with comprehensive host-community sensitization.

Facilitate legal representation

To ensure fairness in such legal disputes, we facilitate access to legal representation for refugees and asylum seekers who find themselves in conflict with the law.

Support refugee-led organizations

We help grassroots, refugee-based organizations realize their potential by advising on structure, strategy, succession planning, accountability, and the establishment of an engaged board of directors. We mentor leaders as they navigate obstacles on the way to reaching organizational sustainability.

Reach out if you’d like to get behind our cause, subscribe to our mailing list, or make a donation that will make a difference.

12 March 2022 / Read

Research & Report: Refugee Relocation Intentions

The final outcome of research carried out recently in Dzaleka, in partnership with the University of Malawi, with funding from Southern New Hampshire University.

6 April 2021 / Read

Refugee Entrepreneurship in Malawi: Success Factors and Job Creation Effects

Refugee entrepreneurship forms part of the informal economy of Malawi, despite a national encampment policy that denies refugees freedom of movement and of employment outside Dzaleka refugee camp. Using a sample of refugee entrepreneurs working in an urban and in a rural location, this research utilizes a quantitative method to analyze refugee-owned enterprises in Malawi.