Abstract:
The turbulent economic environment that has been bedeviling Zimbabwe for quite
some time, punctuated by uncertainties over entitlements and endowments(access to
basic necessities of life) has rendered many households particularly female headed
ones in urban areas vulnerable to poverty. This article is based on a study that was
conducted in the suburb of Mucheke F, in Masvingo town in 2012 to examine the role
of internal savings and lending schemes as a livelihood strategy for female-headed
households. The study employed qualitative research methodology with Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs), unstructured and in-depth interviews providing the data elicited
from the respondents. The focus group discussions held in Mucheke F suburb
included women engaged in internal savings and lending schemes, with unstructured
and in-depth interviews employed to get information from officials in the Ministry of
Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development. The key findings from this
study indicate that internal savings and lending schemes play a critical role in
meeting the basic needs of female-headed households. Owing to these schemes,
female-headed households studied managed to buy household furniture, pay tuition
fees for their children up to tertiary level, generate hospital fees as well as making
food provisions available for their families. It also emerged from the study that the
families faced a myriad of challenges in their endeavour to sustain their families.
Lack of book-keeping skills, political interference and their small social networks
militated against their efforts to keep their families adequately nourished and
supported.
