An in-depth Study on the impacts of Operation Murambatsvina ActionAid International, and its partners, carried out a nation-wide survey in an attempt to understand more fully the effects of Operation Murambatsvina, and the findings of this survey convey a very sad and sombre picture indeed. A total of 1,193,370 individuals were affected by Operation Murambatsvina in the six sampled urban areas. Harare was the hardest hit area accounting for 71% of individuals affected by the Operation. Bulawayo was the second worst affected nationally. However, the proportion of individuals in Bulawayo affected were less than 30% and this figure is the lowest at city or town level. The overall population sampled was 127,587 with an average household size of 5.5. Approximately 12% of homesteads visited were headed by elders (aged over 60 years) and only 1% (142) were headed by minors (commonly referred to as child headed, below 18 years). Furthermore, children aged between 0 -17 years made up 71,691 members (or 56%) of the total population sampled. The proportion of male and female children was roughly equal (51% vs. 49%). Thirty one percent (31%) of interviewed households were hosting orphans, whilst a further 13% were hosting at least a chronically ill individual. A minority of 6% were hosting at least a mentally/physically challenged person. The survey also inquired about the primary source of income affected by the Operation in terms of the sample: - - A majority (70%) of urban dwellers were engaged in informal tradingxiv prior to “Operation Murambatsvina; The primary sources of income that were cited to have been disrupted (70%) as a result of the Operation include: tuck shop ownership (9%), flea market (12%), fruit and vegetable vending (17%), offering accommodation (15%), cross border trader (7%), skilled trade/artisan (13%) and petty trade (6%) such as sale of firewood; Formal employment was only cited by 16% of the respondents as a primary source of income, whilst a further 4% claimed not to have any source of income or livelihood activity before the Operation. The survey also examined a wide range of factors in peoples’ lives that may have been affected by Operation Murambatsvina, and the findings give cause for considerable concern: Shelter A majority (70%) of respondents reported that they had lost shelter. Loss of shelter was two fold: tenants being evicted as a result of demolitions, and landlords’ losing sections of their homes as a result of the demolitions. Source of income 76% of interviewed households reported that they had lost their sources of income. This figure was similar to the 73% that had lost primary sources of income (livelihoods) as a direct result of the Operation. Education for children School drop out was reported to be 22%. However, a further 44% of households interviewed reported that they were in a precarious position in funding and accessing schools for their children, currently and in future. 2