Minha Casa, Minha Vida Project in Divinópolis

Today I visited Divinópolis' third social housing development under the partnership scheme with the City and Federal Government. Here the city have provided the land to build on and the Federal Government have provided the funds to build these properties.

The Mayor of the city took time out of his schedule to meet me on site and explain the development of the project since he has been in office.

During his first term in office he put in place plans to build three social housing developments in different locations surrounding the city. The plans were implemented and for over a year people have been living in these properties.

Development 1 has 463 homes
Development 2 has 211 homes
Development 3 has 498 homes

In this city the cost of the homes is around R$ 60,000 which is paid back to the government over 15 years. Depending on the family income there may be welfare assistance to top up the repayments of around R$ 333.00 a month. The welfare is capped so that the family has to pay from their own pocket a minimum of R$ 50.00 a month.

On this particular estate there are around 2000 residents.

Priority for the properties lie with the homeless, the poor, the vunerable and those with children. (Not given in any particular order.)

As with all of the properties built within this scheme across the country the properties are of equal size and design with a kitchen, bathroom, 2 bedrooms and a living room.

Bedroom allowance as mentioned in previous blogs does not exsist here. I was given examples of household types for the estate I visited. They consist of single people, couples with or without children and single mothers with up to 6 or 7 children.

From my visit I could see there was a bus route, this is vital as the estate is easily six miles from town. There is a football pitch for the young people living there. I noticed some children on the street, a couple of burnt out cars and the distant sound of loud music from a few streets away.

The security measures placed around the houses are the responsibility of the homeowner. Please see the pictures for an understanding of how the estate looks and the types of security measures used by different households.

Across the estate some homeowners have built small extensions the quality of the workmanship varies.

The mayor, who is now serving his second time in office, explained that there is planning for two future social housing projects which will see a further 1060 homes built in this City. He is clearly a popular man with the towns people and during our meeting every passerby greeted him like an old friend.

The social development plans also include additional transport, health and childcare provisions however these will be regional rather than local to the estates.

The mayor advised me that there are around 4500 families in receipt of Bolsa Familia (family support) in the city and the level of assistance varies from R$ 50.00 to R$ 300.00 depending on circumstances such as number of children and other income. It costs the city R$ 23000000.00 annually. This money is given wherever possible to the Mother, who is classed as the base of the household.