Summary

The present good practice proposal intends to tell the world in general how the city of Chókwè has survived the impacts of climate change. With this good practice, we intend to show the world that everyone can make the difference in relation to the challenges faced in the day to day.

Background and Objective

Before we started the program the city and its citizens faced serious problems arising from the informal and disorderly settlements and the rain. Combining urban disorganization and rainfall its resulted in cyclical floods, bad conditions of environmental sanitation and crime due to lack of proper streets and expansion of public electrification, in which all social groups whether women, men and young people were all immersed in the same problem, where women and youth were raped at night by criminals and the occurrence of diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, cholera, fever and skin problems.

Actions and Implementation

The city of Chókwè has 08 neighborhoods, divided in two localities, namely Nkavelani (1º, 4º, 5º and 6º) and Machel (2nd, 3ºA, 3ºB and 7º); Of these, only the 1st, 2nd and 3rd are ordered, the rest are disordered settlements. In addition to the informal settlements, the city challenges the cyclical floods due to their geographic location and climate change impacts; To end the drama of the challenges Chókwè faces, there is the giant financing gap for the implementation of urbanization projects; As an embarrassment, we are face the misinformation and bad publicity carried out by third parties. To ensure our objectives, we undertake the following actions:  Training of technicians, community leaders, neighborhood leaders, members of local neighborhood development committees, NGOs operating in the city and influential personalities in the field of climate change;  Identification of the main effects of climate change in Chókwè0;  Survey of the main vulnerability factors of the City Flood;  Elaboration of the Resilience Action Plan;  Implementation of the Resilience Plan. With the implementation of these actions, we guarantee the participation of all social extracts, local economic agents, merchants, farmers, students, teachers, doctors, we guarantee the inclusion of all, special the representative of women in the process from the elaboration, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. We make consultations and decision-making sessions from the neighborhoods, where the residents themselves identify the problems and together they find strategies to solve them. In addition to these consultation sessions, we hold popular meetings and visits to workplaces: school, hospitals, public and private institutions, farms, seeking to meet everyone to embrace them in the program, hence no one was left out during the process.

Outcomes and Impacts

Financial: To implement the plan we use the few funds we have through planning and participatory budgeting, where we define what to do, where and its cost.

Social and Economic: There has been a significant change in gender issues and equality of rights between men and women, the elderly, young people and children, today all are part of the decision-making forums with equal rights to speak and develop economic activities for the development of their families and community.

Cultural: Today when we visit a family and ask them to join the urban redevelopment program, we not only speak with the head of the family (man) but also with his wife and children, we explain and we depend on an answer from everyone who is part of the family. There has been a change in our culture, in terms of respect for women and young people.

Environmental: Before the implementation of the program, the city was a true center of solid waste and garbage of diverse nature, which was buried in drains, public roads, residential sites, schools and hospitals, causing illnesses and poor public health. With the resiliency plan, we improve the solid waste management system, access to potable water, creation of green spaces and new gardens, leisure facilities and improvement of the rainwater drainage system.

Institutional: The program is an asset for the institution's failure, which opted for planning and participatory budgeting, prioritizing the voice of its citizens and valuing their contribution. It also given us a regulatory instrument in terms of planning and urbanization.

Gender and Social Inclusivity

To elaborate the plan of action, we use our five year plan, the annual plans, and the strategic development plan that are governed by the constitution of the republic. We have also consulted on millennium development strategies and national policies for the prevention and combating of natural disasters.

Innovative Initiative

We have transferred the responsibility of ordering and making Chókwè resilient to the citizens, we have given a purpose to the citizens and they have embraced it and are committed to the program, because it was designed by them, they are implementing and they are the ones who commands the process; As a municipality, we learn that we do what we can, with what we have in our hands, in this case: the community and its resources.  Every citizen of Chókwè has learned that we have to adapt in what the nature offers us;  To believe in the ability to overcome the adversities of the nature;  Work together for best results;  That we do not need much to make it happen, only goodwill;  We should always value the community help;  Share the responsibility with the citizens;  Develop based on local resources.

Conclusion

To elaborate the plan of action, we use our five year plan, the annual plans, and the strategic development plan that are governed by the constitution of the republic. We have also consulted on millennium development strategies and national policies for the prevention and combating of natural disasters.