SDI undertakes Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) which includes:
- Conducting participatory facilitation of hazard, vulnerability, capacity and risk assessment of individuals, families and communities;
- Facilitating planning and designing effective community disaster management activities and projects
- Undertaking community based awareness and education
- Facilitating community based/led advocacy
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Tikonzekere Arts Contests: Tikonzekere Arts Contests is a tool that aims at engaging people in Malawi to discuss problems that they face because of such disasters through artistic creations that they and others create and share. In this year’s (2019) initial version of the contests, the theme is “Communicating Flood Vulnerability Reduction Good Practices through Arts in Malawi”. Through songs, poems, stories, short videos, and drawing artist are communicating messages on what households and communities can do to help reduce their flood vulnerability individually or collectively themselves. Artist are using their skills ; 1) to motivate people to relocate or to improve housing and infrastructure standards, maintenance, and usage; 2) to motivate individuals, households and communities in to adopt behaviors that help them prevent water-borne diseases; 3) To motivate positive attitudes and behaviors towards effective preparedness actions and useful climate change and meteorological services information and 4) to motivate people to use and promote appropriate agriculture, forestry, and resource management practices in water catchment areas to reduce negative flood impacts. Tikonzekere Arts Contests are implemented by Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI), Rural Livelihood Risk Management Consulting and Society for Education Initiative (SEI) with financial Support from The Government of Malawi through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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A community focus group discussion aimed at ranking risks in their community
Risk Profiling And Action From Frontline (AFL) - SDI in collaboration with Global Network for Disaster Reduction (GNDR) and Mzuzu University - Urban ARK (Urban Risk Knowledge) have facilitated risk profiling in urban communities In the exercise CSOs and communities embark on an in-depth process to explore risks that are faced by people within a locality. This is done by facilitating communities to understand risks and root causes, and strengthening their ability to address these through regular reflection and by working in partnership with others. The ultimate goal of the process is to strengthen affected people’s ability to address everyday disasters and risks including their underlying causes, and become more resilient to these shocks and stresses. Urban ARK aims to generate data, understanding and support local capacity and international advocacy for urban DRR in Africa.
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Bangwe Awareness and Advocacy Project: Bangwe is partly a slum and it is one of the townships that has a high level of poverty levels in Blantyre (Malawi). It has diverse people in term of culture and status. A number of people in the area are involved in low paid work such as manual labour, retail and factory work. Others are involved in small businesses. It is characterized with risks such as deforestation, squatter settlements, shortage of clean water, high poverty levels, land degradation, poor waste management, Cholera, HIV conflicts and crime. SDI carried out the awareness and advocacy project inoder to; a) help the communities in Bangwe to identify risks in their community;b)mobilize communities to advocate for improved services in Bangwe and c) reduce everyday disasters in Bangwe community. Communities were able to identify their risks and also demand better services from service providers ( Malawi Housing Cooperation, Blantyre City Council and Ministry of Health). Communities had identiefied; 1) Poor water, sanitation and Hygiene; 2)housing planning and construction and 3) Poor waste Management and pollution as their everyday disaster. Communities also identified their responsibilities and what they can do as individuals and collectively
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Bangwe women advocacting for acess to clean water
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Miss Siliro Chima of Sustainable Development Initiative beaming a cartoon video on how children can maintain hygiene and sanitation before, during and after floods.
Awareness and Education for Children: In the year 2012 SDI embarked on DRR Awareness targeting youth and children in the Shire River East bank, one of the floods prone areas. SDI educated children in DRR preparedness and adaptation. Over 3000 students from 6 primary schools benefited from the intervention in the targeted areas.