Contribution of Basic Community Organizations to Improving the Socio-economic Conditions of Vulnerable Women in Burundi: The Case of Afevbu in the Mutimbuzi Commune

Abstract

In Burundi, the Association of Helping Vulnerable Women and Children is a local association that works to improve the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable women in 119 communes of the country. Our research work focused on “The contribution of grassroots community organisations in improving the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable women in Burundi: a case study of the Association of Helping Vulnerable Women and Children (AFEVBU) in the commune of Mutimbuzi”. The CBOs in question are formal and informal agencies that emerge from the community through local initiatives that are directly associated with the realities felt by the community members themselves. These CBOs emerge with the aim of solving the real problems of the locality but which the state has not taken into consideration in advance while the community feels very threatened by the problem. These CBOs seek to empower and build the ca-pacity of Burundian women in the modern practices of maize cultivation and goat rearing so that they can be economically self-reliant and avoid expecting everything from their husbands. The overall objective of this study was to analyse the contribution of grassroots community organisations in general and the Association of Helping Vulnerable Women and Children in particular, in the process of improving the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable women in the Mutimbuzi Commune, and to show the involvement of vulnerable women in the activities of AFEVBU; to identify the actions carried out by AFEVBU with women in the Commune of Mutimbuzi; to unveil the strategic orientations for the improvement of the living conditions of the women who benefit from AFEVBU's support; to assess the socio-economic impact of the entrepreneurial actions of the women supported by AFEVBU. The methodology of research was applied to conduct this study to follow both qualitative and quantitative processes. The survey population was composed of 110 individuals from which a sample of 51 individuals obtained by applying the d′Alain Bouchard formula was taken and 1 president, 3 social facilitators were added.  The quantitative data were analysed using the statistical software for social sciences (SPSS). In the course of our paper, we have noticed that CBOs play a great role in the participation in community development. They are necessary in a developing country like Burundi. They allow vulnerable women to improve their living conditions. From the yield of maize and the production from goat rearing, vulnerable women can invest in development projects because the economic gains they make on a daily basis enable them to start income-generating activities. The AFEVBU is seen as an essential solution for increasing income and reducing the socio-economic insecurity of women in order to meet their basic needs (food, clothing, medical care, housing and promoting quality education for children).