Experiences of NGO capacity building on microfinance: Zimbabwean life histories.
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Date
2020
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Abstract
This qualitative study explored poor rural women’s experiences of the Internal Savings and
Lending (ISaL) scheme promoted by CARE International in Zimbabwe. Data in this
interpretivist, life history study were generated through focus group discussions with twelve
former and twelve current members of the Tabudirira ISaL group in Ward 10, Masvingo
District, followed by in-depth interviews with six former and six current members. The River
of Life method proved particularly powerful in generating rich data. Indepth interviews were
conducted with CARE staff . Poverty, patriarchy, death and loss, broken families and disrupted
childhoods, and also, resilience and perseverance, emerged inductively as significant themes
from the participant’s life stories through thematic content analysis. The sustainable livelihoods
framework (SLF) was used to explore how women’s participation in ISaL impacted their
livelihoods, whilst communities of practice (CoP) theory helped towards understanding the
group’s learning processes. The study revealed that women engaged in a variety of activities
and strategies, before and after joining ISaL, to improve their livelihoods and livelihood
outcomes, including membership in multiple microfinance groups. Access to different capitals
was important for the women to benefit from participating in ISaL; participation enhanced
capitals, but did not entirely reduce vulnerability. Social capital proved to be critical to the
women, who described the group as family, commenting that “we have our own CARE”. The
women found ways to continue practices of saving and the spirit of togetherness even when
members dropped out. There was evidence of reasonable peripheral involvement in the
induction of new members by the old members. However, only three of the five stages in the
development of a CoP could be discerned. Core to the practice of this group was survival in
the face of ongoing shocks and stresses; this is significantly different to the typical craft and
organisational practices discussed in much CoP literature. Aligned to this, new powerful
identities became apparent, such as the entrepreneur, the survivor and the ‘sister-in-struggle’.
The study proposes a holistic model, combining insights from SLF and CoP, and Ubuntu, both
for developing microfinance programmes and for assessing such groups. This combination
allows for a rich holistic account of lives, livelihoods and learning, providing an inclusive and
robust lens for adult education and development studies in community-based and African
settings.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.