‘SURVIVAL MODEL’- INTERNAL SAVINGS AND LENDING SCHEMES AS A LIVELIHOOD STRATEGY FOR FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN AN URBAN CONTEXT: THE CASE OF MUCHEKE SUBURB IN MASVINGO CITY, ZIMBABWE

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 researchmethodology 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 informationfrom 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.