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Access status: Open Access ,
Assessing the impact of community-based intervention programmes on people living with disabilities in Waterfalls, Harare South, Zimbabwe.
(BUSE, 2026-06) Muchena, Prisca
This study assessed the impact of community-based intervention programmes on people living with disabilities in Waterfalls, Harare South, Zimbabwe. The research focused on identifying the types of community-based intervention programmes (CBIPs) for individuals with disabilities in Waterfalls, assessing the impact of CBIPs on social inclusion, empowerment and overall well-being. The study also focused on researching the strategies for strengthening inclusion of people with disabilities (PWDs through CBIPs and proposing policy recommendations for improving the sustainability and implementation of CBIPs. The research was guided by the Social Model of Disability as the theoretical framework, which defines disability as caused by social and environmental barriers not person’s impairments. The study used a qualitative research. Data were gathered through focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and observations and was collected from PWDs, caregivers, programme implementers or service providers and community member. The main community-based intervention programmes identified in Waterfalls found in by the study included therapeutic and rehabilitation services, vocational training, peer networks and support groups and sports and recreational activities. The study findings highlighted that these interventions improved confidence, self-advocacy, psychological well-being and community participation among PWDs. Positive changes in community attitudes towards disability was found in the study. However, different barriers continue to restrict participation in CBIPs. The barriers included poor road infrastructure, stigma, transport challenges, communication barriers, limited funding and cultural beliefs. The research results highlighted that despite the existence of some inclusive programmes, accessibility remains a primary challenge. The study recommends improving accessibility conditions, more awareness campaigns, and increase participation of PWDs involvement in planning and leadership, strengthening transport systems for PWDs, ensure sustainable funding through the support of the government and more income generating programme. In addition, the study recommends strong enforcement of disability law and inclusion policies to enhance sustainability of CBIPs for PWDs.
Access status: Open Access ,
Moderating effects of demographic profile (income and religion) on the relationship between facebook intensity and youths Purchase intention in fashion apparel
(BUSE, 2022-11) Mapurazi, Davies Mufaro
The study examines the relationship between Facebook intensity and youths’ willingness to buy fashion apparel in Zimbabwe, considering the moderating effects of income and religion. A survey of youths aged 18-35 explores how Facebook usage influences fashion purchase decisions, integrating experiential marketing dimensions (sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioural and social). The research investigates how income and religion affect this relationship, providing insights for fashion marketers targeting Zimbabwean youths on Facebook. Key findings highlight the role of experiential marketing in driving online fashion purchases among youths hence offering practical implications for fashion brands and social media marketers.
Access status: Open Access ,
An Assessment of the effectiveness of women empowerment programmes in Mazowe District Ward 26, Zimbabwe.
(BUSE, 2026-06) Makavani, Tariro L.
The research was centered on three main objectives: to identify the types of women's empowerment programs implemented in Ward 26, to examine the socio-economic impact of these programs on women beneficiaries, and to discuss the problems in the implementation and sustainability of empowerment programs in Mazowe District Ward 26, Zimbabwe. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, data were collected from 89 women beneficiaries through surveys, 5 key informant interviews, 2 focus group discussions (16 participants), and direct observations. The study found that Village Savings and Lending (VS&L) groups (100% participation), agricultural projects (70%), and skills training programmes (50%) were the most common interventions. Results indicated significant social empowerment gains, including increased confidence and decision-making participation. However, economic empowerment remained limited, with mean monthly income increasing from USD $67 to $108 (t(88)=7.84, p<0.001). Major challenges included limited access to capital (78%), poor market access (65%), climate change (52%), cultural barriers (47%), and inadequate training (38%). The study concludes that while empowerment programmes successfully enhance social agency, structural barriers prevent sustainable economic transformation. These findings support Kabeer's (1999) distinction between resources and agency, demonstrating that economic access without structural change yields partial empowerment. Recommendations include adopting an "Empowerment Plus" model linking social groups to financial services, engaging men as allies, and policy reforms addressing market access and credit constraints.
Access status: Open Access ,
Diamond mining-induced displacement and its effects on social fabric of the Chiadzwa community
(BUSE, 2026) Chindanya, Pride
Diamond mining, This dissertation examines how diamond mining-induced displacement affected the social fabric of the Chiadzwa community in eastern Zimbabwe. Using Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model as the main theoretical framework, the study employed a mixed-methods design including household questionnaires, key informant interviews, observation and document review. Findings show that displacement was involuntary and state-driven, occurring without meaningful community consultation. Social fabric deterioration included fragmented kinship networks, eroded trust, collapse of traditional ceremonies and weakened chiefly authority. Displaced households faced severe asset loss, food insecurity, and reduced access to schools and clinics. Coping mechanisms such as casual labour and petty trading provided only short-term survival, not recovery. The study concludes that forced relocation in Chiadzwa was a profound social and cultural rupture requiring comprehensive, community-centred policy responses. Induced displacement ,Chiadzwa community
Access status: Open Access ,
Evaluating the link between irrigation rehabilitation and household nutrition security, among vulnerable smallholder farmers in semi-arid regions of Zimbabwe: a case of the Silalabuhwa irrigation scheme in Filabusi
(BUSE, 2026-06) Kepekepe, Arnold T
Amongst the most popular ways of dealing with hunger issues in arid areas is improving their irrigation infrastructure. Nonetheless, there has never been any literature that emphasize the impact of irrigation rehabilitation on improved nutrition for the locals, mostly in semi-arid environments in southern Africa. Thus, the research will be conducted through studying the experience at Silalabuhwa Irrigation Scheme situated in Filabusi, Insiza District, Matabeleland South Province in Zimbabwe, an area of 442 hectares and rehabilitated within 2019 to 2023 under the Smallholder Irrigation Development Project (SIDP). Being an area within Agro-ecological Region IV where the annual rainfall is mostly less than 650 mm, making it highly vulnerable to famine, Silalabuhwa offers an excellent platform for understanding whether or not irrigation rehabilitation would lead to notable dietary changes. The study aims three intricately related objectives. Firstly, to assess and compare Household Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS) of SIDP irrigator beneficiaries with those of non-beneficiary dryland farmers living in the same environmental zone. Secondly, to establish if women of ‘reproductive age’ in the programme attain the minimum dietary diversity for Women (MDD-W) cut-off, i. e. five food groups; and thirdly, to investigate the contribution of SIDP-promoted bio-fortified crops mainly NUA 45 iron-and-zinc-rich beans, orange maize, and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes on the nutritional status of families involved. A mixed-methods approach was a selected method of study combining structured household survey questionnaires that were administered to 51 households through KOBO Collect, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews with AGRITEX officers and Irrigation Management Committee members. The quantitative data were firstly entered into a database and then statistically analysed with the support of SPSS software. Different analysis techniques such as ANOVA, post-hoc Tukey HSD tests, chi-square, and bivariate correlation were used. However, qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. The results indicate that the difference in dietary diversity between the two groups was statistically significant. Beneficiary irrigators had a mean HDDS of 7. 54 whereas the non-beneficiaries scored 6. 31 on average (F = 15. 213, p = 0. 000), with 87. 0% and 74. 3% of the former and the latter respectively being classified as food secure. The Silalabuhwa scheme average of 6. 94 positions it among the top-performing SIDP schemes. For the MDD-W indicator, beneficiary irrigators had an average score of 5. 49 a little higher than the five-group cut-off while the scheme-level average of 4. 46 indicates that quite a number of women still do not get minimum micronutrient dietary adequacy, a situation partly due to the schemes relatively low agricultural income and the factional conflicts over the block farming tenure arrangement. On bio-fortified crops, 39. 22% of Silalabuhwa households used drought-tolerant varieties including orange maize, and the same percentage of families practiced diversified cropping that included NUA 45 beans. Beneficiary irrigators' consumption of legumes was 77. 8% instead of 52. 3% for non-beneficiaries, and tubers as 56. 5% versus 33. 9%, these consumption patterns directly account for part of the MDD-W difference observed. The study suggests that putting in irrigation system at Silalabuhwa was a key thing in raising household dietary diversity, actually it was the first hypothesis to be confirmed. But, there is still plenty of scope for other areas to perform better. Besides generating infrastructure, the SIDP voucher program has been instrumental in the introduction of bio-fortified crops and as a result diversified the food basket. Financial status and seed availability remain the main factors influencing nutritional security, mainly among women in their fertile years. Besides that, farmers who do not support the block farming system are another source of problem. For that reason, focusing on both food availability and economic empowerment is a key lesson for communities or projects alike to experience significant changes, says continuous efforts are necessary.