Community Alliance for Human Settlements in Zimbabwe (CAHSZ) is a grassroots based, membership driven social solidarity alliance of twelve community based organisations and pressure groups in communities previously affected by arbitrary displacements and house demolitions in former commercial farming and mining communities, urban and peri-urban informal settlements across Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland and Harare Metropolitan provinces over the past two decades.
CAHSZ believes that the recovery of these communities from the ravaging effects of arbitrary displacements, and pursuit of durable solutions to the myriad of challenges they face can be best achieved if they meaningfully participate in socio-economic, civic and political processes at local and national levels. Consequently, CAHSZ works to mobilize, organize and capacitate internally displaced persons (IDPs) by providing access to information and constitutional literacy to enable them to meaningfully participate and influence the formation of policies that will yield durable solutions to their longstanding challenges. CAHSZ also create strategic platforms and partnerships with other citizens, state and non-state actors locally, regionally and internationally to enable IDP communities to access support in their pursuit of durable solutions to the cross-cutting challenges they face.
Although CAHSZ’s approach is community centred, their work is national in scope and impact with the agenda being shaped by nationally obtaining political and socio-economic conditions. CAHSZ seek to influence national laws, policies and decisions that facilitate the recovery of all IDPs. Their goal is to ensure that while Zimbabwe’s responses to IDPs’ challenges are shaped by regional and international standards and best practices, those solutions should be tailor-made to address the specific needs of local IDPs. CAHSZ believes that safe and proper migration and settlements with safe and secure access to socio-economic and productive resources such as land is the panacea for socio-economic growth for IDPs and Zimbabweans at large.
Through their broadly inclusive and issue-based advocacy, CAHSZ has managed to bring IDPs’ issues on the national policy discussion fora thereby managing to influence national policy.
For more about CAHSZ contact +263773011445 or +263719278003 or email fmukora@gmail.com or tmandevhana@gmail.com
