Biography

My name is Josephe Mwendabandu born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I was inspired by people’s works that I was seeing on social media. In 2017, I decided to join a photography course for one year. When I finished learning photography, I also learned film-making and photo and video editing software. I started following famous photographers in the country and abroad, but it was not the end. When I realized that I had no opportunity to have equipment, I came up with an idea to organize a big event in order to fundraise money. Thanks to God, my idea worked. I got a little amount of money and added what I had before and bought a camera and other accessories. In January 2022, I opened a photo studio named Multimedia. My life was difficult and miserable before I started photography. I was living at my brother’s house, depending 100% on him. But today, things have changed. I even help my brother and his family with the little money I get from photography and film-making, and I now depend on my own. I earn 120.000 Malawi kwacha per month. I advise my fellow youths to look for something to do that will sustain their lives socially and economically. As a refugee, I have learnt a lot of stuff, and I have gained a lot of experience that has made me become the best version of myself. Lastly, I ask people who have the heart to help support refugee’s works and ideas because in the camp, we have so many talents but the lack of opportunities and people to work with remain our weakness and threat.