PROJECT OF AUTO-CONSTRUCTION AND RESETTLEMENT
IN CHAMISSAVA, DISTRICT OF CATEMBE

 A beneficiary in his old house, close to a swamp 

Chamissava is a bairro of the Catembe district, in the capital of the country, Maputo city, just on the other side of the bay. The population in Catembe reaches 27,500 people, very scattered,  most of them dedicated to fishing and related activities (boat construction, sellers), primal agriculture,  and hawking, with low incomes (about 17 USD/month) and high unemployment. The poorest bairro is Guaxene, with a huge population of immigrants coming from all the country to search for a job on their way to South Africa.

 Cultures in the new sit 

Beneficiaries had been identified by the MRC and SRC, and chosen between the most vulnerable victims: people living in flood prone areas without resources for moving away.

The site given by the local Administration, in Chamissava (“from the earth”, in the local language) is the highest point of Catembe, away from humid zones, with drinkable underground water and fertile ground. After a first phase, where 185 families have been provided with new houses, we are in the second phase, building another 88.

Between other actions that the MRC/SRC has carried out in Chamissava, like awareness campaigns against cholera, malaria, AIDS, have also created three boreholes with handle pump, providing enough quality water for 6,000 people;  have set up a first aid post, giving primary health care to the people working in the project and for everybody who need it and are working together with the local Administration to bring power to the site. Moreover, MRC/SRC plan to build a playground for children and a meeting house, for the use of the community.

 Training a volunteer beneficiary in the maintenance of one the boreholes 

 MRC/SRC staff monitoring the constructions 

The main goal of the project is to give a house in a safe place to the victims of the 2000 floods. Yet, at the same time, to build their capacities and to empower them to  improve their quality of life. That is the reason for deciding to implement an auto-construction program: the beneficiaries themselves are  building their own homes.

 Blacksmith team leaded by a beneficiary 

Concerning this policy, we several working teams have been organized, following the different needs: blocks, who made the principal material of the houses; blacksmith, for preparing the metal structures of the buildings; carpenters, who fits doors and windows; and construction, builders of the houses. As mentioned, each team is integrated by the beneficiaries, who receives an incentive for this activities, and are leaded by a qualified worker. But the most important is that once a beneficiary has been sufficiently trainee in his speciality, he can lead his own team. In this way, they learn a new profession for their personal development.

The MRC/SRC consider the integration of women in this project as another important aspect, in fact, 53.4% of the workers are women: they work in the same post as men in a equal employment policy. To achieve this goal the MRC/SRC had to build a kindergarten, run by a MRC volunteer and two trainee beneficiaries, where mothers let their children during working time and the babes receives an adequate meal.

 Assembly electing the committee 

Furthermore, we are reinforcing the social links between both the native inhabitants and the new comers. The working organization the MRC/SRC implement helps the beneficiaries, coming from different regions to strength ties between them and to create the idea of working together. Both National Societies have also encouraged to set up a committee integrated by beneficiaries and locals, whose members has been elected in a general assembly,  to make decisions and to report to the Administration.

 Trainee beneficiary at the kindergarten 

 Beneficiary and her family in their new house 

In conclusion, at the end of the program, the new population of Chamissava who have work in  the project will have received a house in a safe site with all the basic facilities; a training in a new profession; incentives for their work; talks about diseases prevention, and they will enjoy a social organization. Finally, the base for their own development.