BTEDE - Bureau Technique d’Encadrement pour le Developpement Endogene
Being a Christian organization, its developmental work accompanies evangelism while encouraging churches to take charge of their own problems, keeping true to the first recommendation of God to man, Genesis [1:27-29], and deriving its motive from II Thessalonians 3:9-10, " If a man will not work, he shall not eat...
The goal of BTEDE is to accompany church members and grassroots leaders in promoting multi-disciplinary approaches to community development
BTEDE is a grassroots organization begun in 2001 aimed at providing skills for the large number of young women in the Kikwit area without educational opportunities or prospect of marketability. Under Edgar Kimbau’s vision, a graduate of agronomy, BTEDI soon became a resource organization and a networking platform for a number of a development and agricultural associations. Today, there are just about 200 formal associations in the Kikwit area that are apart of the BTEDE network which include over 2000 adults and over 4000 children. There are also a number of informal family groups who own sizable plots of land associated with BTEDE.
Objective: BTEDE’s objective is to provide a viable mechanism for the church to bring their communities out of poverty through building capacity. Their activities are mostly agricultural and include technical training, offering new and better seed variety, helping market produce and financial advice. However, they have helped a number of villages build small outpost health clinics and pay for the attending nurse. In addition, they have been involved in a number of small medicine credit-type projects.
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Methods: Associations pay for BTEDE services with 10% of their harvest. These funds help pay for BTEDE supervision and teaching staff based in Kikwit. Funding from ‘DEVRU’ has made it possible for BTEDE to provide seed, including new varieties, to the associations. BTEDE owns two fields used to develop seed which is then distributed to the associations in credit. It also owns a building in Kikwit provides serving as a base for administration, materials and training.
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Strategy
1. Effective internal governance: Recently, BTEDE went through a complete overhaul of its governance structures. The board was changed and strengthened and regular staff were let go. Now, BTEDE works on a contract by contract basis which turns out to be more efficient financially and more effective on the field. Its improved capacity to collect fees from the associations and manage them has set them up on a more sustainable footing.
2. Health zone focus: The president of the BTEDE board is Dr Emery Bewa who has a long history of public health experience having administrated MEMISA activities in Congo for the last five years or so. This sets BTEDE up for a more holistic focus integrating healthcare sustainability with economic viability mainly through agriculture.
1. Effective internal governance: Recently, BTEDE went through a complete overhaul of its governance structures. The board was changed and strengthened and regular staff were let go. Now, BTEDE works on a contract by contract basis which turns out to be more efficient financially and more effective on the field. Its improved capacity to collect fees from the associations and manage them has set them up on a more sustainable footing.
2. Health zone focus: The president of the BTEDE board is Dr Emery Bewa who has a long history of public health experience having administrated MEMISA activities in Congo for the last five years or so. This sets BTEDE up for a more holistic focus integrating healthcare sustainability with economic viability mainly through agriculture.
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