Zimbabwe – Forging a Positive Attitude among Female Single Parents

The project sought to inculcate a positive attitude in female single parents as well as fostering self-reliance in them. This is a good practice as the single parents are empowered as they would be able to work for themselves and issues like depression, stress and hypertension, and to a certain extent suicide would be mitigated.

This project is innovative in the sense that not much has been done concerning single parenting hence it unveiled some of the strategies that can be useful to keep the single parents, especially single mothers on their feet and with a smile on their faces.

The aim of this project is to explore the challenges faced by female single parents in raising children on their own and to map out strategies or best practices which can be used when raising children as a single parent.

The project came about after realising that more and more women are surviving as single parents. Single parenthood is as a result of different reasons which include personal circumstances, divorce, abandonment, teenage pregnancy and death. As a result the remaining parent has to cope with all the care giving, nurturing, role modelling, challenges, rewards, obstacles and joys meant for a partnership of two.

The project reached direct beneficiaries and indirect beneficiaries. The Zimbabwean Government allocated a budget of $500 000 to support this project.

During the course of the project, different challenges were encountered. At first members did not want to open up during discussion sessions about the challenges they were going through in raising children on their own. This can be attributed to the fact that in their culture, it is regarded a taboo to tell people the challenges and problems one face in life. People just pretend as if everything is normal. Not everyone contributed as this is a disadvantage when focus group discussions are used.

To overcome this, the group invited a single parent female, who is also a Pastor, who elaborated on the importance of opening to reduce stress related illnesses and to have a positive attitude towards life despite the status of being a single parent. She has conquered the problem of low self-esteem hence she leads congregants of different calibre, married or unmarried.

Other challenges met are that at times the income generating projects did not produce profits at the expected time which derailed projects for other members. The cash crisis did not leave this project out as initially all payments had to be done by the last day of the month which proved to be difficult as it took long for members to access their cash from their customers. As a result it also took long for borrowers both members and non-members to return back the money.

The project adopted a qualitative approach as it sought to explore attitudes, behaviours and experiences of female single parents. As a tool for monitoring and evaluation, the group held monthly meetings (more to do with the financial side), that is collection and disbursement of funds. Fortnightly meetings were done share a word to uplift each other and discussing as team members benefits yielded as a result of the formation of the group.

Follow ups were done to ensure members embarked on the income generating projects that they would have purported to embark on. Those who needed money for things such as fees, property acquisition and other payment had to produce receipts as proof.

Women were richly empowered as a result of the action as they are now financial stable and they now have a positive attitude towards life. They no longer look down upon themselves. Failure to pay fees for their children is now a thing from the past.

Violet Tadereda, a teacher, says, “Thanks to this project, I never thought I would upgrade myself, surely this project made it a reality.” Men became more supportive as a result of the organisation’s work as they felt they could also have been part of the project as some men are involved in the raising of children in the absence of their mother. Just as women, they also face challenges and pressures associated with raising children alone. They need to learn these self-help projects as well as managing stress. Some were also supportive in the sense that they supported women by buying items from them like chicken, fish, rabbits or maize. They also borrowed from the group and paid back with interest.

The campaign resulted in changes at the household level in the sense that members were taught how best to do their budget by being able to keep track of one’s bills and finding something to improve their finances through income generating projects.

The perception of the community towards female single parents has changed as they were previously viewed as husband snatchers. The community can now associate freely with single parents and some single parents have been co-opted in church leadership roles such as Chengeto Mhiripiri is now the church administrator with the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe.

Attitudes of the target group were changed. Previously they looked down upon themselves but now have a positive attitude towards life. The way they viewed themselves before is now different. They realised that the sky is the limit in life. They have realised that they can still live a normal life in the absence of a partner.

For those who had declared that they would never marry again, because of the campaign some are already opting for remarriage. The community’s attitude towards female single parents has changed as they realised that they are not threats to their marriages as they perceived before.

From the researcher’s point of view this good practise can be amplified post 2015 by forming single parent groups in different settings such as schools, (both primary and secondary), tertiary institutions, churches, companies, wards, districts and communities at large.

Instead of female single parents groups only, male single parents groups can also be formed or groups with both male and females. In the event that the group is of composed members who are not employed, council or government may assist in the bankrolling of the project at its initial stages. Thereafter the project will be able to sustain itself through the income generating projects.

There will be need to diversify the income generating projects so that there is no replication. Other income generating projects may include fish farming, mushroom farming, piggery, garment construction and design, cake making, catering, interior decor and many others.