The study set out to investigate the challenges faced by NGOs in carrying out supplementary feeding programmes in Zimbabwe’s rural areas. CARE and PLAN International in Zimbabwe were the two NGOs used as case studies and their operations in the Lower Gweru district of the Midlands Province Zimbabwe provided the empirical data for this study. This study was principally qualitative in nature as it sought to provide an in-depth analysis of the main challenges that NGOs face when carrying out supplementary feeding programmes in the rural areas of Zimbabwe. For the purpose of collecting data the study relied on Focus Group Discussions, in-depth interviews with key informants and document study. The key informants included Country Directors, Programme and Field officers at both CARE and PLAN International who had intimate knowledge of some of the challenges that their supplementary feeding programmes faced. Challenges that faced CARE and Plan International’s supplementary feeding programmes were categorized into two themes, internal and external organizational challenges. Internally the study revealed that the NGOs were unable to retain critical personnel such as nutritionists and programme officers. It also emerged from the study that field officers were involved in the thefts of food meant for the supplementary feeding programmes. The management of the supplementary feeding programmes was made difficult by lack of adequate information about the target beneficiaries. Further the study noted that there were contestations when it came to the selection of the beneficiaries of the programme. It was also found that during the rainy season it was difficult to 8 avail food timeously to the beneficiaries of the supplementary feeding programmes. It emerged from the study that supplementary feeding programmes were victims of political interference as the government and war veterans were suspicious that the programmes were being used to influence the voting behavior of the recipients. The global financial crisis also limited the capacity of the donors to continue availing substantial amounts of money for food procurement. As part of the broader strategy to increase the effectiveness of the NGOs in carrying supplementary feeding programmes this study recommended that NGOs should re-strategize on how they remunerate key personnel such as nutritionists. The NGOs through their mother body NANGO should constantly engage government so that there is a good working relationship supportive of poverty reduction through supplementary feeding programmes.

The research problem that this study addresses is two-fold. First, the persistance of poverty gives rise to a real world concern for improving the effectiveness of international development efforts. To address the link between the alleviation of poverty, adult education, and a grass-roots approach, this study focuses on planning within an organization that offers adult education programs overseas, specifically a nongovernmental organization (NGO). An understanding of the dynamics of planning in such an NGO will help in articulating more effective approaches to planning practice in international development. The second aspect of the research problem is that the relationship between the planning process and the planning context seems not to have been fully explored in the literature on adult education program planning. There is a need for a more complete set of analytical tools that captures the complexities of planning and sheds light on the relationship between the planning context and the planning process. The purpose of this dissertation is to address the main theoretical question raised by the research problem: How do nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) plan so as to maintain themselves and be effective given the pressures on them? This theoretical question was investigated through a case study method, specifically ethnography. Ethnographic fieldwork, which included seventeen months of participant observation, twenty-five interviews, and document analysis, was carried out at an NGO, refered to here by the pseudonym of "Global Faith." The conceptual framework developed in this dissertation builds on the negotiation approach to planning. The first part of the conceptual framework links two strands of research: leadership theory and negotiation theory. Through this juxtaposition, I was able to examine the process of planning in a new light - as the negotiation of meaning. The second part of the framework shows how a deeper understanding of the context of planning is accomplished by applying a subjectivist, multi- perspective approach to analyzing cultures in organizations. This approach - which incorporates the integration perspective, the differentiation perspective, and the fragmentation perspective was used to see Global Faith cultures in three different ways. These same ways of viewing culture at Global Faith were matched with the varying interpretations held by staff members in order to characterize the cultural contexts for specific episodes of planning involving the negotiation of meaning. The findings show that by including the negotiation of meaning in planning activities, Global Faith is able to motivate staff and deal effectively with confusing requirements, conflicting expectations, and diverse demands that they face in their interactions with CIDA, general public donors, the Board of Directors, and overseas partner organizations. There is a recursive relationship between planning processes involving the negotiation of meaning and Global Faith cultures whereby the cultures are both precursors and products of negotiation of meaning episodes. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This dissertation outlines a comprehensive study about Zambezia Agricultural Development Project Phase 2 (ZADP 2). It examines its impact and its relationship to the targeted communities. The study analyses development in the targeted areas and presents an outline of the activities, its conceptual basis, its approaches and its goals. It explores the impact of poverty alleviation and livelihoods between households and their strategies to overcome the food insecurity through on-farm and off-farm income generation. ZADP 2 applied several strategies to help the communities in their struggle against poverty and vulnerability. It was assumed that rural people do not improve their surplus because of the backward technology they use in their farming. To resolve this problem ZADP 2 realized that improved seeds would enable rural people to deal with improved agriculture through an increase in agricultural output, which would increase the quality of life of many. This led to the introduction of improved seeds, which were multiplied on the peasants' farms. It also introduced livestock restocking component. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is an approach put in place in order to involve the targeted communities to actively participate in development process aimed at them. It is recognized in this dissertation that Participatory Rural Appraisal and problem-solving are crucial to successful outcomes, and that, as a result, PRA approach is a fundamental instrument in motivating the targeted people to be fully involved in prioritising their problems and needs. This dissertation also remarks that PRA can succeed if development practitioners are committed to local problem-solving by not overturning real local needs and not disregarding the local knowledge. Several African and international development models were reviewed in order to see how the applied development has been undertaken and how it can be applied in Mozambique. This dissertation shows that the assumptions held during the ZADP's implementation that all stakeholders involved such as facilitators, livestock promoters, the government and the smallholders would guarantee the sustainability of the project were merely an assumption. It moves on to show that in order to contribute to poverty alleviation, the ZADP 2 should be long-term rather than short-term. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-160). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-80).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-121).

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-80). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-121). Also available in print.