Our vision:BESG envisions a future in which all people in South Africa will live in a participatory democracy with equal access to habitable and sustainable living environments and livelihood security.

Our mission:BESG exists to support the poor and vulnerable to access resources and increasingly gain control over their lives and destinies, through the promotion of sustainable livelihoods and habitable environments, achieving basic socio-economic rights, and capacitating local government, with additional focus on smaller towns.

Established in 1983, BESG grew out of the struggle to recognise the right of indigent families to live in urban areas. Under the new democratic dispensation, BESG became a leading Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in urban development, planning, and infrastructure and housing delivery.

Our approach aims to build social capital among those members of our society who are resource-poor, rather than simply be a service delivery agent. Consequently we have developed an approach to our work that aims to empower households and communities to engage in development processes.

Our core programmes:

1. Building sustainable human settlements. The thrust of this programme is to promote poverty alleviation and livelihood and tenure security, through the incremental provision of shelter and access to basic services, community development, consumer education, and the effective management of resources. We do this through project management, facilitation, training, research, and policy advocacy work.

2. Promoting good governance and deepening democracy. This programme is rooted in the premise that development is most effectively realised by strong, developmental local government and dialogue between civil society and government. This in turn requires significant building of capacity of, and bridge-building between, historically disadvantaged communities and local government. The activities we undertake include training (leadership skills, local government legislation, and development), social facilitation, and research and policy advocacy work.

BESG and the CINDI Network:BESG is a member of the CINDI Community Development Cluster. We are also a partner in the Child Advocacy Project, where we:

• Provide awareness-raising and training workshops and demonstration projects in household livelihood support strategies (nutrition, food security, access to free basic services, resource management, and conservation). 
• Promote tenure security for the protection of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs). 
• Develop alternative models of care for OVCs who are homeless, which are family- and community-oriented; and disseminate those models in order to contribute positively to a provincial and national legislative framework. 

BESG is committed to creating supportive physical and social environments for OVCs. Children are the most marginalised in communities ravaged by impacts of HIV and AIDS. Most often their rights to shelter, food, safety and security are violated by contradictory policy mechanisms, or by lack of knowledge of caregivers on how to access children's rights.

Where we work:Located in Pietermaritzburg, we work in urban and peri-urban areas across the KwaZulu-Natal midlands and coastal region.

When we work:Our office is open 0830 to 1630 Monday to Friday. We work out of office hours routinely when engaging with CBOs in community development, infrastructure, and housing projects.

How our services are financed:The majority of our programmes are grant-funded, and our ability to offer services in new areas and on new projects depends on our ability to source funds that enable us to partner other NGOs and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in addressing their social and physical development needs.

We also undertake training, research, and project management work on a cost-recovery basis, where end-users are able to pay.