Abstract:
Although there is a plethora of studies on poverty in schools, poverty in satellite schools in
Zimbabwe remains a neglected phenomenon. Satellite schools are newly established temporary
schools which are attached to a registered school. This paper derives from a study that focused on
the social capital influences of communal farmers and land reform beneficiaries on satellite
schools in the Masvingo district, Zimbabwe after the year 2000. The study drew on the capability
approach by Sen (2000) and the poverty pyramid by Baulch (2011). The study was qualitative and
it was positioned in the interpretive paradigm. The paper reports on one case study of communal
farmers in the Masvingo district. Four semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion
with a purposive sample of ten participants were carried out in the Sambo community. Qualitative
content analysis was utilized to analyse the findings and draw conclusions. The manifestations of
poverty at Sambo satellite school were infrastructure challenges; physical resources allocation; a
natural resource challenge; and learners’ participation in extra-curricular activities with other
schools. Due to a multiplicity of manifestations of poverty, Sambo satellite school was clearly in
distress. It is recommended that the Zimbabwean government provide additional funding to
support satellite schools that are located in poor, environmentally challenging contexts.
