Biography

My name is Malipo Bigaya Vakson. I’m a Congolese by nationality, and I live at Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Dowa District, Malawi. I own a photo studio named VMP. Since I was a child, I used to love photography. When I came to Dzaleka, my life was miserable and my living condition was tough. I had no occupation, so I decided to travel to South Africa to look for a job to earn money in order to buy a camera. After a year and a half of hard work, I got money and I bought my first camera in my life, a Canon 7D Mark 2, a Speedlight, and a Soft Box. When I got the equipment, I came back to Malawi, Dzaleka Refugee Camp, and in 2020 I rented a place (room) and opened a photo studio. Since 2020, I’ve run this business. I’m so happy because I have bought enough equipment and my life has improved from worst to best. I’m a hard worker, and I’m always honest to my customers. Despite competition in the field, I gain my livelihood, and I put food on the table. I earn 150,000 Malawi Kwacha per month, I pay rent, and I pay my 3 workers so I remain with a benefit of 50,000 Malawi Kwacha. My vision is to broadcast my work to the world through photography. I advise youths in my community to learn different vocation skills in order to be skillful and be self-reliant because God gifted each one of us with a talent and if we exploit it very usefully, it can be a breakthrough in our life.