Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Operations of Parachurch organisations in Mutare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on organizational operations of parachurch organisations in Mutare, Zimbabwe for the period December 2019 to February 2022. The main purpose of this research was to analyze and evaluate the impact COVID-19 had on organizational operations of Parachurch organizations. The advent of COVID-19 came with a lot of challenges that affected organizational operations and parachurch organisations was not spared as lockdown measures were implemented by the Ministry of Health (MOH) under the Government of Zimbabwe to curb the spread of the disease. The study employed an inductive approach in which questionnaires were administered to a sample of 60 participants drawn from Scripture Union Zimbabwe (SUZim), Family Aids Caring Trust (FACT), Simukai, Youth Alive and Hope Alive in Mutare. The study results showed that COVID-19 had a negative impact on organizational strategic plans and operational objectives of the organization. The findings also identified the impact COVID-19 had on staff and beneficiaries of the organization’s operations. The findings indicate the importance of organisations being proactive and prepared for unforeseen eventualities, and the need to equip and empower human resources with technology and tools for online execution of work in case of eventualities.

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