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Ruth Butaumocho Gender Editor
Back in 2006 when Irene Girimu (49) lost her husband Jeffrey, who was the sole breadwinner in a large extended family, her world seemed to have crumbled around her. She was left hopeless. Without formal education, Irene’s chances of securing gainful employment were slim and she had to devise means to fend for the family and keep her three young children in school.

In Chirumhanzu, a small rural district in the Midlands Province, where opportunities are rare and poverty thrives, Irene’s story is not unique. Even when her husband was alive, money was hard to come by and putting food on the table was a daily struggle.

Mr Girimu was among many villagers who lost their jobs when Athens Mine in Mvuma, a small town 46 kilometres North of Chirumhanzu, folded following the collapse of a shaft and low gold prices at the time. Up until the time of his death, he never received his terminal benefits.

Irene toiled from one household to the other doing menial work for a small fee or in exchange for a bag of grain. When piece jobs were scarce, she would walk along the highway with a bucket to gather grain that would have fallen off haulage trucks ferrying grain consignments.

It was during one of her long treks to pick scattered grain along the highway in 2010 when a neighbour told her that a well-wisher would be meeting women from her village to help them form a micro-lending and savings scheme.

Irene was among hundreds of women from Ward 24 of Chimwavaenzi District who braved the scorching October heat to attend the launch of the scheme, the first of its kind in the area. The meeting would be a turning point in their lives.

“Ndakangoendawo ndichingoti ndonopiwawo chitsapo cheufu, zhara yaiva yarova (I went in the hope of getting a packet of maize-meal to beat hunger),” recalled Irene.

Eight years later, Irene is running a thriving livestock project consisting cattle, goats and hundreds of chickens at her plot, a few kilometres from Mvuma. Her fortunes have changed and her life is flourishing, earning her the moniker “Mai Ndodyachipi” in reference to her improved status.

The initiative, known as “Mukando” or “Fushayi”, has transformed the lives of hundreds of women in the Zibagwe-Chirumhanzu Constituency. When translated from Shona, Mukando means to literally throw in something. Individuals, particularly women, come together and pool an agreed amount of money.

Whenever any of the group members is in need of cash, loans can be taken out at a nominal interest rate.

Launched by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa in 2010 before she became the Member of Parliament for the area, Mukando is sweeping across the constituency offering a veritable strategy for women’s empowerment in the once marginalised community.

Systems such as “Mukando” present opportunities for women to group and share ideas, beyond financial activities. Each group ranges from five to 10 individuals. Whilst loans are given to individuals, all group members ensure the loan is repaid.

The lending and saving schemes have spawned various income-generating projects, which are being run in the constituency by men and women of all age groups, creating downstream jobs for hundreds of people.

From a mere rural scheme where both men and women pooled their meagre resources, with no hope of using the money beyond their kitchen doors, “Mukando” or “Fushayi” has opened doors of endless opportunities for hundreds of people in Chirumhanzu, Lalapanzi, Mvuma and its environs.

Livestock projects, fishing, chicken hatching, farming, nutritional gardens, flea markets and commodity broking constitute the bulk of projects that are flourishing in the constituency.

The numerical significance of the micro-savings schemes and their vast expanse in the Midlands Province is not only on paper, but has given birth to robust and thriving income-generating projects, bringing hope to hundreds of people.

Some of the entrepreneurs have been able to grow their businesses beyond community expectations.

Others are now proud owners of residential stands, with others building modest houses, while some visionaries have gone a step further to consolidate their businesses through constructing shops and workshops. No one involved in the projects imagined such returns from the income-generating projects as naysayers dismissed the initiative as mere political rhetoric.

But, the projects have changed the fortunes for many who had lost hope of fending for their families as a result of economic challenges the country had been experiencing in the last decade.

Mrs Winnie Masocha, a Grade Seven dropout from Ward 17 in Lalapanzi, now owns a shop and a retail business as a result of “Mukando”. “I was among the first people who joined ‘Mukando’ when Mai Mnangagwa introduced the scheme here in 2010.

“During our inaugural meeting, she implored us to work hard, believe in our dreams and set goals for ourselves.

“When Mai Mnangagwa was teaching us on the values of hard work, I just could not imagine how I would rise from where I was, to become a better someone, let alone own a shop. Ndaive ndakasviba nenhamo (I was wallowing in abject poverty). From being a mere villager, I am now part of the business community in the area,” the mother of three proudly declared.

Unlike Mrs Masocha whose vision spiralled beyond being an ordinary housewife, all what Ms Chipiwa Hove (45) wanted was a source of income to enable her to pay for her rented accommodation and care for her children following the death of her husband.

Five years after joining the “Fushayi” groups,  she is now a proud owner of a three-bedroomed house which she built with money from micro-savings.

“When we started, some people dismissed the schemes as mere political posturing, but here we are. We are products of the success of the projects and we are forging ahead with development. I am planning to buy a car, after I furnish the house,” she asserted.

Mr Emmerio Machokoto (42), who runs a hatchery in Mvuma together with his wife and three other ladies, says micro-lending and saving schemes gave him the financial footing he needed to start a business. After quitting his job at a hatchery in Harare six years ago, Mr Machokoto retraced his footsteps to his Mvuma home to join his family.

While interacting with neighbours, he realised a business opportunity to hatch chicks for resale. Using part of the money they borrowed from “Mukando”, the quintet bought a hatchery, which they are using. “The First Lady has been assisting us with markets for our chicks.”

Projects coordinator in the area Ms Violet Nhari applauded the First Lady for initiating various projects that have transformed the lives of hundreds of families in the constituency.

“The diverse projects have been instrumental in the development that we have in the area at household level. While women have been among the majority of beneficiaries, men and the youth are also running viable projects, with the support of Mai Mnangagwa.

“Mukando has contributed to poverty reduction as it has created access to funding among low-income women. “Being groups primarily motivated and driven by women themselves, they have been able to foster sustainable economic development amongst families,” she said.

In addition to the lending scheme, the donation of water pumps to marketing projects in the area, the First Lady has for the past four years been paying transport for over 1 000 women to travel to Harare to buy goods for resale.

Known as the Beatrice Border Post, flea market traders, shop owners and other entrepreneurs who are into commodity broking get free transport to Harare to buy goods for resale. “We have been able to grow small businesses over the years, providing women, youths and even men with a platform to expand their businesses.”

Micro-lending and saving schemes are a good tool for socio and economic development for impoverished groups, especially in uplifting women’s standing. Research shows that women in particular stand to gain a lot from micro-finance because it gives them an independent means of generating wealth and become resilient.

And, since it is women who run the household, a higher standard of living for women ensures good governance and a healthier and more prosperous future for children and the nation at large. Such initiatives also promote the financial inclusion for women, whose aspirations are not catered for in conventional banking systems.

Successes of micro-lending and saving initiatives have also been attributed to their particular focus on empowering and encouraging their self-reliance through developing their own means of income.

The lending and saving schemes have also helped women campaign against oppressive social practices and become a force of development of their villages.

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