Household Participation in Internal Saving and Lending Schemes: Impact on Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Chegutu, Zimbabwe

Abstract

There seems to an abundance of literature that discusses Internal Savings and Lending Schemes (ISALS) and poverty reduction in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. However, there is a lack of academic literature in Zimbabwe that interrogates the impact of ISALS on orphans and vulnerable children. This paper, using the project being implemented by the Tsungirirai Organisation (TO), discovered that when households participate in ISALS there is positive expenditure on education, food, health and many other needs of orphans and vulnerable children. More importantly, the study identified household expenditure on transport for orphans and vulnerable children living with HIV to access anti-retroviral medications (ARVs). As a qualitative study, the data in the study were collected using in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and we analysed the data by using thematic content analysis.