Rural transformation is vital for economic development and the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including eliminating hunger and malnutrition. Rural youth employment and entrepreneurship are key drivers of the transformation process. Our holistic approach involves in our intervention children, the youth, adults, and old to create a lasting change in their communities.
Last year; Tabitha Community in Action (TCA) in partnership with Conseil Provincial de la Jeunesse de Bujumbura; has trained youth cooperatives, from 9 communes of Bujumbura Province , at Businesses Plan conception and small entreprises Management. As a result, some cooperatives have already got loans from BIJE (Investment bank for the youth) and are running their initiatives. Others have applied and they are waiting for the youth Bank decision.
Tabitha Community in Action sees entrepreneurship as a tool to improve the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities and to sustain a healthy economy and environment.
Community Mobilization
In the beginning of 2022, @TCABurundi Team visited one of the youth cooperatives of our YEP (Youth Empowerment Program), Cooperative COMPIA. It is registered, operational and led by Oscar Irakoze. The Cooperative is located in Nyabiraba commune; Gasarara locality. The cooperative has over 60 members. Youth, children and adults have come together with one purpose: “Practicing Fish farming in rural areas.” The cooperative works two days a week and now have 10 ponds. They have already given fish breeds to another group of people who were inspired by their actions. The latter are now doing pisciculture in their localities.
““We live rural areas and very far from the Tanganyika Lake. Children in our neighborhood suffered from malnutrition and hunger until we created COMPIA Cooperative. our Cooperative started with fish farming project. If ever financial means permit, we shall implement other projects to achieve several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and eliminate poverty. We are so grateful for the Business Plan training we got from @TCABurundi and CPJBujumbura. That helped us to conceive our Business Plan and equipped us with managerial skills to keep innovating and responding to local matters,” said Irakoze Oscar, the leader of COMPIA.
Fish farming
Currently, rural youth cooperatives have too little access to many of the ingredients of agricultural success. These include land, credit, farm inputs, agronomic and vocational training, insurance and lucrative markets. Farming is also getting harder because of climate change, degradation of the soil, water scarcity and loss of biodiversity.
Revitalizing rural economies will require empowerment of youth in agricultural enterprises and Cooperatives. By doing this; we will be preventing the vulnerability of rural communities and contributing to the achievement of SDGs in Burundi.
Tabitha Community in Action is encouraging and supporting local change makers in their initiatives to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.
Would you want to join us? You are welcome. Alone we do little, but together we can do more.