Since 2018, students from The Pennington School in New Jersey and students from the Dzaleka schools—a refugee camp in Malawi—have partnered on meaningful, student-driven projects. Beginning in 2021, Pennington students have traveled annually to Dzaleka to work side by side with their peers, strengthening both the work and the relationships behind it.

Together, they have co-designed a hybrid reusable sanitary pad, developed soap and an in-home water filter, and built a supporting economic model that includes skills training for teens. Along the way, Pennington students have also helped expand access to learning resources by providing iPads, laptops, and textbooks that are now used daily in the schools.

Rooted in The Pennington Schools values, these projects reflect honor by giving a voice to express the lived experiences of Dzaleka students as equal partners in creation. They demonstrate virtue through purposeful collaboration, service, and the belief that creativity can be used to strengthen education and community. Humility guides the work by prioritizing listening, learning, and co-design, ensuring the projects grow from the needs and ideas of the Dzaleka community. Together, these values show how connection can bring communities together and give a voice to the silenced

Dzaleka Refugee Camp is located in Malawi, about 41 kilometers from the capital, Lilongwe. It was created in 1994 by the Malawi government and the UNHCR to help people fleeing war and violence in Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The name Dzaleka comes from a Chichewa phrase meaning “I will never do it again.” The camp used to be a political prison and was built for 10,000–12,000 people, but now more than 52,000 refugees live there.