The Impact of Donor-funded Community Empowerment Projects on Poverty Alleviation in Zimbabwe

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Periodical article

Title:	The Impact of Donor-funded Community Empowerment Projects on Poverty Alleviation in Zimbabwe
Authors:	Tanga, Pius T. Mundau, Mulwaini
Year:	2014
Periodical:	Perspectives on Global Development and Technology (ISSN 1569-1500)
Volume:	13
Issue:	4
Pages:	465-480
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Zimbabwe
Subjects:	community development poverty reduction NGO empowerment aid agencies
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341312
Abstract:	The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of donor-funded community empowerment projects on poverty alleviation in Zimbabwe. The primary data were collected from a questionnaire survey from 52 project members who were from two local ngos that were selected randomly. A semi-structured interview guide designed for two officials of the selected ngos implementing the projects was also used. The findings show that there is heavy dependence on outside funding, no adherence to the principles of the empowerment approach and a failure to positively impact the lives of the project members. This therefore calls for ngos to adopt better empowerment practices: community involvement in decision making, project ownership, and clear lines of communication with the ngos. However the findings also show the strength of linking project members with relevant institutions and training in order to ensure sustainability of community projects that may foster community empowerment towards poverty eradication.