INFLUENCE OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ON SUSTAINABILITY OF

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS BY NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

IN KENYA. A CASE OF SHOFCO ORGANIZATION IN MATHARE
INFORMAL SETTLEMENT.

MOHAMUD ABDI OSMAN

A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award
of the degree of Master of Arts in project planning and management of university of
Nairobi

2018

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 DECLARATION
This research project is my original work and has never been presented for award of any
degree in any other University.

Signature………………………. Date………………………………

MOHAMUD ABDI OSMAN

L50/84779/2016

This research project has been submitted for examination with my approval as the
university supervisor.

Signature…………………………… Date……………………………….

DR. LILLIAN OTIENO

Senior Lecturer,

School of Continuing and Distance Education

University of Nairobi

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 DEDICATION
This research project is dedicated to my family for their wonderful support and
encouragement. I will always be grateful.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to God almighty for the gift of life and good health during the entire period
of the study. I want to thank my able supervisor Dr. Lilian Otieno for the support which
made it possible for me to complete this research study. I am also grateful to the SHOFCO
organization for their contribution towards the success of this study. Finally I want to
appreciate my colleagues and lecturers who participated in one way or another to ensure
this journey becomes successful.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION................................................................................................................ i
DEDICATION.................................................................................................................. iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iv
TABLE OF CONTENT.....................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... viii
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER ONE:INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................1
1.1 Background of the Study ...............................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ...............................................................................................4
1.3 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................5
1.4 Objectives of the study...................................................................................................5
1.5 Research Questions ........................................................................................................6
1.6 Significance of the Study ...............................................................................................6
1.7 Limitations of the Study.................................................................................................7
1.8 Delimitations of the Study .............................................................................................7
1.9 Assumptions of the study ...............................................................................................7
1.10 Definition of Significant Terms ...................................................................................7
1.11 Organization of the Study ............................................................................................8
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................9
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................9
2.2 Role of Community Participation on sustainability of Development projects ..............9
2.3 Community Participation and Project Sustainability ...................................................10
2.4 Project Planning influence community participation on sustainability .......................12
2.5 Labour contributions on sustainability of development projects .................................13
2.6 Communication influence on sustainability of development projects .........................15
2.7 Capacity building influence on sustainability of development projects ......................17
2.8 Theoretical Review ......................................................................................................19
2. 9 Conceptual Framework ...............................................................................................21

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2.10 Literature Summary ...................................................................................................23
2.11 Research Gaps ............................................................................................................23
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..............................................25
3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................25
3.2 Research Design...........................................................................................................25
3.3 Target Population .........................................................................................................25
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Procedures ........................................................................25
3.5 Research Instruments ...................................................................................................26
3.5.1 Piloting of Instrument .........................................................................................27
3.5.2 Validity ...............................................................................................................27
3.5.3 Reliability............................................................................................................27
3.6 Data Collection Procedure ...........................................................................................27
3.7 Data Analysis Techniques............................................................................................28
3.8 Ethical Issues ...............................................................................................................28
3.9 Operationalization of variables ....................................................................................29
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND
INTERPRETATION .......................................................................................................31
4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................31
4.2 Return rate ....................................................................................................................31
4.3 Demographic information ............................................................................................31
4.3.1 Gender ...............................................................................................................32
4.3.2 Age ...................................................................................................................32
4.3.3 Highest level of education .................................................................................33
4.4 Influence of planning on sustainability of development projects ................................33
4.5 Influence of labor contributions on sustainability of development projects ................36
4.6 Influence of communication on sustainability of development projects .....................38
4.7 Influence of capacity building on sustainability of development projects ..................40
4.8 Project sustainability ....................................................................................................42
4.9 Correlation analysis .....................................................................................................43
4.10 Discussions ................................................................................................................45

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CHAPTER FIVE:CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .........................48
5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................48
5.2 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................48
5.3 Recommendations ........................................................................................................49
5.4 Suggestion for further studies ......................................................................................50
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................51
APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................54
APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE ...................................................................................54
APPENDIX II: INTRODUCTION LETTER ....................................................................58
APPENDIX III RESEARCH PERMIT .............................................................................60
APPENDIX IV: RESEARCH AUTHORIZATION ..........................................................61

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Operationalization variables .........................................................................29

Table 4.1: Gender distribution of respondents ...............................................................32
Table 4.2: Age distribution of respondents ....................................................................32
Table 4.3: Distribution of respondents according to highest level of education ............33
Table 4.4: Influence of planning on sustainability of development projects .................33
Table 4.5 Influence of labor contributions on sustainability of development projects ..36
Table 4.6: Influence of communication on project sustainability ..................................38
Table 4.7: Influence of capacity building on sustainability of development projects....41
Table 4.8 sustainability of project. .................................................................................43
Table 4.9 Pearson correlation analysis ...........................................................................43

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.9: Conceptual Framework ...................................................................................22

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 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
DFRD District Focus for Rural Development
GB Grameen Bank
LA Local Authorities
LASDAP Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan
LATF Local Authority Fund
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MOHI Mission of Hope International
NAP-SMLWR National Action Plan for Sustainable Management of Land and
Water Resources
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
OPP Outline Planning Permission
PPP Public Private Partnership
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
US United States
USAID United States Agency for International Development
WHO World Health Organization

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 ABSTRACT

Lack of community participation has been cited by scholars as one of the key reasons for
the failure of donor funded community projects. Project sustainability is a major challenge
not only in Kenya, but also in many developing countries. The study sought to find out the
influence of community participation on the sustainability of non-governmental
organization in Kenya with Shining hope for community organization being the case study.
Objectives of the study included, to establish the influence of project planning, labour
contributions, communication and capacity building on sustainability of development
projects by NGOs in mathare informal settlement. After reviewing the theoretical and
empirical studies the study adopted descriptive research design where questionnaire and an
interview guide was used to collect information from both members of the community and
the Shining Hope for Communities Officials. The research findings establish that there is
a positive relationship between community participation and sustainability of the projects.
The study made the following recommendation; community participation have significant
influence on sustainability projects and therefore any project that intend to benefit informal
settlement must involve community participation during the planning meetings, include
locals through labour contribution, there should be a clear channel of communication
between the organization and other stakeholders which include members of the community
and lastly capacity building should be factored during and after the project this will play a
huge influence on sustainability of the project.

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 CHAPTER ONE:INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Community participation is a matter of global concern and the international community
have been persuading the developing countries to engage the people in addressing issues
that affect their own lives. Community participation approaches have become a major
demand by the development agencies the world over; the United Nation, World Bank and
other donors. The bottom-up approach has gained currency for its gains in project
performance and sustainable development, it makes implementation better than the top-
bottom approach. In the global scene, it is acknowledged that the bottom-up approach
makes people close to the development activities and entrenches ownership. Globally the
Orangi Pilot Project and the Grameen Bank (GB) in South Asia was a good example
Uphoff,(1997). Through effective participation by the locals, OPP was very successful and
it led to the government along with international agencies replicating its model for urban
development in other parts of the country. GB’s significant performance resulted to it being
copied in other countries of world including US, UK, Australia, China, India and other
developed & developing countries. Gohary al. (2006) stated that major public private
partnership (PPP) initiatives in the United States has reportedly failed due to community
opposition. As a result, it reveals that community s' participation in project is the key to
project success and without their input the outcome may not be favorable. In essence,
different stakeholders have different levels and types of investments and interests in the
project Yang, (2009) which sometimes results to conflicts among the stakeholders.

In Africa, South Africa’s community involvement strategy was used as the accepted way
of leadership and governance. This meant that the systems used by mayors in charge had
to report on how the public views and involvement of community based organizations were
put into consideration in the running of the affairs of the municipality. It is to be noted that
participation by the locals in development interventions were just mere politics since locals
just endorsed development plans. This means that the locals are manipulated by the
administrators. Community participation in the context of development is the active
engagement of the target beneficiaries whereby they have a right to give directions on

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execution of development interventions rather than share the project outcomes. During this
process people especially the disadvantaged influence on decisions concerning
development and not just involved in sharing benefits of an intervention. Capacity building
the local poor gives them control over their lives and increases their ability to mobilize
sufficient resources for sustainable development. This also ensures that targets set are
realized through community empowerment. Public participation in the management and
planning of developmental initiatives is crucial in ensuring lasting impacts Thwala, (2001).
Community members began the panning, construction and operation of their own water
supply and distribution. Field staff for the project was recruited locally, traditional
community groups formed the basis for water communities, and government support was
limited. According to Boon et al (2012), there are a number of community projects in
Ghana such as; market structures, toilet facilities and boreholes have been abandoned due
to little or no community participation. In Nigeria implementation of rural development
projects has been impeded as observed by the Centre down approach in which the rural
people were not involved in project conception, planning and monitoring which often led
to failure and abandonment of many valuable projects.

According Kerote, (2007) participation is important from the identification phase to the
maintenance stage of projects because without evaluation it is difficult for the project to
take corrective measures to ensure that the set targets are met as planned during the
formulation stage. Community involvement will ensure project acceptability and increase
likelihood of beneficiaries participating in the project and is also an essential condition for
sustainability of projects. DFRD as a development strategy was initiated in Kenya in 1983,
a strategy that sought to involve locals in the running of programs at the lowest level
through the District Development Committees. The aim of the government was to actively
involve the locals in setting priorities and finding solutions depending on the available
resources. However, the strategy turned out to be ineffective as the exercise did not
represent genuine commitment by the government in giving the grassroots’ people a chance
for self-determination Makokha, (1985).

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Maina (2013) did a study in Nakuru and established a positive relationship between
community participation in project identification and selection, participation in project
planning, participation in project implementation and participation in project monitoring
and evaluation and success of the Economic Stimulus Programs, participation was looked
at wholly without paying attention to the levels. Golicha (2010) conducted a study in
Garissa and found out that the level of participation of the community was not adequate in
the most important stages of project formulation, design and implementation, the study did
not assess the outcome of the low levels of community participation on the project. Maweu
(2015) conducted a study in Turkana and established that communities’ participated
actively in project risk management oriented activities which are tagged to a monetary
value. The study demonstrate a link between the level of participation and civic
responsibility which ensures project stability

In order to achieve sustainability in projects, there was need to have better approaches
covering governance, foundations, advocacy, fundraising, management and leadership
among others. The focus should be on capacity building at both national and regional level
to ensure workforce with appropriate skills that promote participatory and sustainable
project development while at the same time empowering communities to be more
analytical about their situations, resources and develop appropriate interventions strategies
to address the problems faced Mutimba, (2013).

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) plays a significant role for implementation of

donor funded community development projects in Kenya. They operate mainly in
disadvantaged areas of the community such as in the slums. Nairobi has many slums
Mathare being one of them. Living standards in this slum are very poor and residents live
in shanties made of old tin and mud. With no running water, sanitation is poor and one
public toilet is shared by about 100 people and residents have to pay to use them. The area
is highly congested and most people live on an income of less than two dollars per day.
Crime and diseases are common in Mathare slums. It is estimated that in every thr
ee people, one is HIV positive. There are many orphans as a result of parents dying of
HIV/AIDs. Children suffer from malnutrition and infections such as dysentery, malaria,

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typhoid and cholera. To address the many challenges in Mathare Slums, SHOFCO
Organization which strive to elevate various challenges among the residents of mathare
with programmes ranging from gender based violent, education, water hygiene and
sanitation and lastly provision of health through various clinics. This essential services are
needed by the residents to eke a living and improve their livelihoods. To achieve these
goals, NGOs have implemented several development projects but most of such projects do
not continue when donor financing stops. The development projects are therefore generally
not sustainable.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Project sustainability is a major challenge not only in Kenya, but also in many developing
countries. Many development projects have not survived beyond the exit of donors despite
huge amounts of money spent on implementation of the projects. Poor sustainability of
projects therefore deprives beneficiaries returns expected from these investments,
(Luvenga et al., 2015). Community participation in projects has been identified as one of
the critical factors that influence sustainability of community based projects. Empirical
literature is however divided on the influence of community participation on project
sustainability. Some studies show that community participation leads to development
projects that are more responsive to the needs of the poor, more responsive government
and better delivery of public goods and services, better maintained community assets, and
a more informed and involved citizenry (Mansuri and Rao, 2003). Other studies also show
that greater community participation is associated with higher project outcomes and better
services (Khwaja, 2003a). Oakley (1991a) however argues that participation is only a
short-term exercise that is hardly likely to lead to the sustainability of development projects
after the project is completed. According to Dudley (1993), participation in community
projects is connected to power relations and politics within the community, thus, whenever
a project tries to promote participation, it has to be ready to confront the political context
and its consequences. As a result, the use of participation to drive community development
projects can eventually give an opposite result.

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 In a developing country such as Kenya, community development projects forms a critical
part of service delivery to the people. Donor funded development projects are undertaken
to improve the wellbeing of the community through equity and access. Effective
management of such projects depends primarily on proper project selection, project design,
project implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Moreover, values, norms, social belief
and opinions of the local people which are affected directly or indirectly by development
interventions should also be considered. Otherwise, sustainability of such projects may
generally be in jeopardy Khwaja, (2004). Lack of community participation can deprive
intended beneficiaries of development project a platform for decision making, affect
project outcomes negatively and deny the intended beneficiaries of such projects the
benefits they ought to have enjoyed. It is against this backdrop that this study seeks to
interrogate the influence of community participation on sustainability of development
projects by NGOs in Mathare Slums.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of community participation on
sustainability of development projects by non-governmental organizations in Kenya, A
case of SHOFCO organization in Mathare informal settlement

1.4 Objectives of the study

This study was guided by the following objectives;

i. To find out how project planning influence on sustainability of development projects

by NGOs in mathare informal settlement.
ii. To establish how labour contributions influence on sustainability of development
projects by NGOs in mathare Informal settlement
iii. To determine how communication influence on sustainability of development
projects by NGOs in mathare Informal settlement
iv. To find out how capacity building influence on sustainability of development projects
by NGOs in mathare Informal settlement

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1.5 Research Questions
To establish the objective, the study will focus on the following research questions;

i. How does project planning influence community participation on sustainability of

development projects by NGOs in Mathare Informal settlement?
i. To what extent does labour contributions influence on sustainability of
development projects by NGOs in Mathare Informal settlement?
ii. How does communication influence on sustainability of development projects by
NGOs in Mathare Informal settlement?
iii. How does capacity building on sustainability of development projects by NGOs in
Mathare Informal settlement?

1.6 Significance of the Study

The research taught the project beneficiaries the importance community participation on
sustainability of the project this will help them sustain the project as their own after the
donor pull their financial help from the project especially upon the completion of the
project. This project act as an eye opener to the community and donor on ways of enhancing
project sustainability.
It is the hope of a researcher that this research through its findings will open up
collaboration opportunities between all the project stakeholders that are geared towards
future sustainability of projects. Through this, each stakeholder will try to engage each
other all for the common good of the project. The project donors, the government and the
project beneficiaries will each be involved at every stage of the project throughout the
entire project cycle.

To the government of Kenya through the local administration and welfare department,
generated recommendations and proposals on how to improve the mathare informal
settlement gender issue, education and health problems and other projects to be
implemented in future. The government will achieve this by getting feedback from the
community.

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1.7 Limitations of the Study
Lack of information on planning and the need of the project might hinder the researcher
from getting the necessary perspective of the members of the community.to counter this
the researcher will initiate explanation session on the role of community participation
before asking them to give information on the already existing projects.
Another limitation could be insecurity, the area has recorded many insecurity cases due to
high Number of people who are unemployed and may be suspicious of the research being
conducted in the area thus posing a challenge.
The research was conducted during rainy season and there was challenge in accessing some
parts of the study area and the research assistants were forced to walk.

1.8 Delimitations of the Study

The study was restricted to sustainability perspective of development projects by SHOFCO
NGO in Mathare informal settlement. The study was conducted in Mathare slums, Nairobi
County, the results might not be generalized to other neighboring informal settlements The
study also sought to investigate influence of community participation by looking at the
following variables; planning, communication, capacity building and how it affects
sustainability of development projects.

1.9 Assumptions of the study

The researcher assumed that the respondents would be available as agreed to answer
questions even on short notice. The researcher also assumed that the respondents would
give honest and true feedback about the questions and also would deliver the filled up
questionnaires to the researcher on time as agreed without delay.
The respondents were able to give their honest response within the short time period.

1.10 Definition of Significant Terms

Community Participation: It is a process by which community people influence decisions
that affect them especially it is influence on development decisions.

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Community Capacity Building: It is the identification and strengthening of community’s
tangible resources which when combined improves the ability of a community to
recognize, evaluate and address key problems

Project planning: discipline for stating how to complete a project within a certain
timeframe with define stages and with designated resources

Labour contribution: human contribution of both physical and mental effort used in
creation of goods and services.

Communication: process of sending and receiving information between two or more

people

Project Sustainability: is the ability of an organisaton to continue Its mission or program

far into the future.

1.11 Organization of the Study

This study was organized into five chapters which capture various components of the
research. Chapter one captures the spirit of the research in the introduction; it also attempts
to respond to the questions as to why the research is necessary and what it aims at
achieving. It also explores into the expected challenges and opportunities for good research
results as well as defining key concepts in the research. Chapter two forms the Literature
review of the study and equally focus on what other scholars have observed in as far as
issues and variables in this research are concerned. It also comes up with the conceptual
framework, which forms the spine of the research. Chapter three dealt with the specific
methodology of research as well the procedure in data analysis. It included the research
design, target population, sampling procedure, data collection methods, methods of data
analysis, the validity and reliability, operational definition of variables and ethical issues.
Chapter four provided an analysis and interpretations of the data from the field. Finally
chapter five presented the summary of the findings from chapter four, the findings was
discussed and also give conclusions and recommendations of the study based on the
objectives of the study.

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 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Related literature on water influence of community participation on sustainability of
projects is reviewed in this chapter: This chapter entails theoretical review, empirical
review that was used in the study in regard to each variable in the study and conceptual
framework.

2.2 Role of Community Participation on sustainability of Development projects

Traditionally, participation was viewed as active, passive or interactive (Mikkelsen, 2005).
Active participation is open and community members take part actively in all stages of the
project. Decision making as well as other vital activities, such as management as well as
monitoring and evaluation of the projects, are done by the people. On the other hand, during
passive participation, the community maintains a distance and never intervenes in the
activities; they are told what is going to happen or what has happened already. Interactive
participation is when people take part in joint analysis as well as the planning process and
the members of the target community improve their existing structures as well taking
charge of their development process (Roodt, 2001).
Community participation teaches communities how to resolve conflict and allows for
different perspectives to be heard. In this way, learning is promoted and people will be able
to help themselves (Baum, 1999 and Nampila, 2005). Communities will be able to assess
their own situation, organise themselves as a powerful group and work creatively towards
changing society and building up a new world. These increased capacities of individuals
allow communities to mobilise and help themselves to minimise dependence on the state
and leads to a bottom-up approach (Nampila, 2005).
Development is not about the delivery of goods to a passive citizenry. It is about active
participation and growing empowerment (Callaghan, 1997). According to the study,
development is not about the delivery of goods to a passive citizenry. It is about
involvement and growing empowerment (Davids et al.,2009). Community participation
leads to empowerment of the community; empowerment centers on individuals developing
a critical understanding of their circumstances and social reality (Davids et al.,2009).

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Participation of the community in development projects leads to capacity building which
enables the community to be more effective and efficient in the process of identifying,
implementing, monitoring and evaluating of developmental projects (Davids et al., 2009).
According to De Beer, (1998), by continuously fulfilling their needs, people learn to realise
their objectives more easily. It is a mechanism that enables local people to determine their
own values and priorities and act on their own decisions. Full potential of individuals is
realised after they have been made aware; then, depending on their capabilities, they act in
order to achieve their goals and objectives (Freire, 1993).
People-centred development shifts the emphasis in development action to people, rather
than to objects and production, and to the enhancement of their capacity to participate in
the development process. Heavily relying on outside resources, such as funding, has
resulted in most interventions being unsustainable. A people centred approach enhances
self-reliance in communities (Kotze, 1997).

2.3 Community Participation and Project Sustainability

Internationally, resources for social welfare services are shrinking. Population pressures,
changing priorities, economic competition, and demands for greater effectiveness are all
affecting the course of social welfare (Bens, 1994). The utilization of nonprofessionals
through citizen involvement mechanisms to address social problems has become more
commonplace (Kaufman and Poulin, 19110).

Korten (1990) says that authentic community participation enhances the sustainability of
the community development projects and this can only be achieved through a people
centered development. Effective community participation may lead to social and personal
empowerment, economic development, and socio-political transformation (Kaufman and
Alfonso, 1997).

The issue of sustainability relating to development activities started to become important

to government, donors and development theorists from the 1980s (Scoones, 2007). The
importance of the notion of sustainability can be seen from the way sustainability is used
as one of five yardsticks in evaluating development interventions (Brown, 1998).

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Furthermore, concern with the issue of project sustainability also comes from the mounting
pressures from domestic constituencies to drastically reduce or possibly halt foreign aid
programs together (Brown, 1998). These pressures have made governments, donor
organisations and development workers start to think about the effectiveness and the value
of aid being delivered to Third World countries over the past decades. Donor organisations
and development workers are concerned that aid being delivered seems to give few positive
impacts to the recipient countries. In most cases, the benefits of development projects or
programs also seem to end with the withdrawal of government or foreign assistance from
the projects or programs. The USAID and World Bank’s post evaluation show that the
majority of development interventions have low levels of sustainability after the
completion of the project (Brinkerhoff, 1992).

This has created the demand for governments and donors to finance projects that helps
beneficiaries become independent at some point in the future, rather than giving them
charity which is unsustainable which leads to dependency on governments and donors
(Bossert, 1990, p.1015). The increasing capability of community to be able to fulfill their
own needs and maintain the benefit of the project also contributes to the eradication of
poverty and hunger in the long-term (Picciotto, 2002,).

There are many definitions of sustainable development, including this landmark one which
first appeared in 1987: "Development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Bruntland, 1987).

For sustainable development to be realized, the community must play a role (Pearce 1994).
Sustainable development should be defined by people themselves, to represent an ongoing
process of self-realisation and empowerment. The community is supposed to be brought
into focus through participation. Without the community becoming both the architects and
engineers of the concept, sustainability of the project may not be achieved since the
community is unlikely to take responsibility for something they do not own themselves.
(Redclift 1992).

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2.4 Project Planning and sustainability of community project
The higher the degree of community participation in a project, the greater is the need for
care in planning at the community level. This also means that communities that accept a
higher level of community participation need greater support in their activities from the
regional and national offices of the development agency. Two areas where a particularly
high level of support is needed are manpower (Skilled) and training. Both areas have been
major constraints to progress in the past (WHO 2013). With regard to planning at the
community and individual project levels, major emphasis is placed here on attention to
detail. Experience has shown that great care at the time of planning leads to more successful
implementation of projects. Therefore, there should be explicit statements in the national
plans regarding who is to make decisions on issues that are not already dealt at the national
level. It is also important to ensure that there is consistency between decisions made at the
community/project level and those made at the higher level so that unrealizable
expectations are not generated and impossible demands are not placed on either
communities or agency officials (WHO 2013).

Ngowi and Mselle (1998) argue that at the planning stage, four levels of intensity in
community participation may be distinguished: Information sharing where project
designers and managers may share information with beneficiaries in order to facilitate
collective or individual action. Though it reflects a low level of intensity, it can have a
positive impact on project outcomes to the extent it equips beneficiaries to understand and
perform their tasks better. Consultation which occurs when beneficiaries are not only
informed, but also consulted on key issues at some or all stages in a project cycle. There is
an opportunity here for beneficiaries to interact and provide feedback to the project agency,
which the latter could take into account in the design and implementation stages. If, for
instance, farmers are consulted on extension practices and arrangements, project outcomes
are likely to be better than if they were merely informed.
Decision making that occurs when beneficiaries have a decision-making role in matters of
project design and implementation. Decisions may be made exclusively by beneficiaries or
jointly with others on specific issues or aspects relating to a project. Farmers may, for
instance, decide by themselves on a programme for the distribution of water for irrigation.

12
Decision making implies a much greater degree of control or influence on projects by
beneficiaries than under consultation or information sharing. Initiating action, this occurs
when beneficiaries are able to take the initiative in terms of actions/decisions pertaining to
a project. Initiative implies a proactive capacity and the confidence to get going on one‘s
own. When beneficiary groups engaged in facility development identify a new way of
running the facility and respond to it on their own, they are taking the initiative for their
development. The intensity of community participation in this case may be said to have
reached its peak because this move is qualitatively different from their capacity to act or
decide on issues or tasks proposed or assigned to them ( Mselle, 1998).

2.5 Labour contributions and sustainability of development projects

The concept of participation in rural development has been evolutionary for the past two
decades. The contribution of the community to development projects in the form of unpaid
labour was then widely accepted as an important constituent and in most cases the only
form of community participation. This widespread acceptance meant that as long as
developers could convince a local community to volunteer labour, full participation as well
as „acceptance‟ of the project was guaranteed. Supporting evidence documented by
Kleeimer (2002) notes one donor in Tanzania who even paid villagers to provide unskilled
labour. Development agencies and governments alike, involved particularly in rural water
supply have had to re-evaluate their active role. From this there emerged a new perspective
that allowed the shifting of responsibility of financing and constructing water projects from
governments and development agencies to the local level that is, the local community.
Good local governance should provide the public with democratic and equal opportunities
to participate. For decentralization to become a reality, central governments and
development agencies alike must be willing to relinquish or share control with a local
community. Conditions under which this can take place as identified by Blair (2000) are
extensive participation of all stakeholders and mechanisms to ensure that those in authority
at the local level are held accountable for their actions
Communities generally have over the years been involved in community development
activities for their individual and collective benefits through one organization or the other.
Most often this is more of a voluntary organization i.e an organization that members enter

13
freely without coercion and leave freely at will. Members are not paid for being members
but are happy to be part of like-minded people to perform social services, to advance some
course or to seek self-help through such organizations (Woodard, 2007). According to
Ohiani and Oni (2007), people saw the need for economic progress, they gather themselves
into cooperatives to cultivate large farms for each member of their co-operation so as to be
able to have surplus for sale. Also in education, people requested from the government or
the voluntary agencies for permission to build schools. Furthermore as people saw the need
for roads, dispensaries, post offices, courts, town halls etc, they participated in constructing
them.
These, the people do without force or coercion but through collective agreement and
individual’s willingness. This is the view of Hillman (2010) who sees community
development as a method of helping local communities to become aware of their needs, to
assess their resources more realistically, to organize themselves and their resources in such
a way as to satisfy their needs and in so doing, acquire the attitude, experiences and
cooperative skills for repeating this process again and again on their own initiative. This is
however contrary to the view expressed by Olson (2013) that without coercion or some
other special device to make individuals act in their own interest, rational self-centered
individuals will not act to achieve their common or group interests.

The rural communities cannot afford to fold their arms and wait for the government to
bring all the facilities to them. They also struggle on their own to live a life of ease. This is
because, according to Ihimodu (1997), the people in their own little communities have their
own dreams just like the elites at the centre. Their dream of the quality of life they would
want to have, the environment and the facilities, which they would want to have, the kind
of society, which they envisage for their children-obviously, better than their own. The
impetus for development should therefore come from the bottom or rather it is important
to feel the pulse of the average person in the community and in that spirit, elicit from him,
his/her vision of development and how the development can be sustained. Put differently,
it is not only enough to identify their vision of development, it is also important to get their
views of their plans to achieve their dreams or vision. This is because people will change
only if they participate in the decision about the change.

14
2.6 Communication influence on sustainability of development projects
Community participation in project communication improves coordination and
collaboration in overseeing advancement programs and to pick up contributor and
institutional support. It additionally engages the group individuals to perceive imperative
issues and discover shared belief for activity. It likewise assembles a feeling of character
and cooperation so as to execute their choices. Just with correspondence will the venture
recipients turn into the key performing artists to make advancement programs effective
Advancement projects can just understand their maximum capacity if learning, data and
innovation are adequately shared. Unless the group is the main thrust for their own
particular advancement, no measure of ventures or arrangement of innovation and data
sources will realize any enduring change in their expectations for everyday comforts.
Correspondence is basic to this as it empowers organizers while recognizing and detailing
advancement projects to counsel with individuals keeping in mind the end goal to consider
their necessities, mentalities and conventional learning.
Beneficiary participation is an important factor for projects. Since it gives many benefits
and final product to the community, donors are always insisting the projects with
beneficiary participation. However, for smooth execution of beneficiary participatory
projects has to cross many hurdles for its successful completion. Identify those drawbacks
and addressing them is necessary. The results of a study by Gunatilake and Halwatura
(2012) show that there are many factors that affect the successful completion of beneficiary
participatory projects. The findings have emphasis on more site visits by the management
staff, budget to be suit to the site location and the conditions. Findings also extended to
management staff travelling distances, vehicle allocations to staff, payment procedure,
meeting minutes to be distributed on time to site and also recommending to some team
building and coordination programmes with management and beneficiary parties.
According to Roger, Rojas and Mayer (1993) it is important that communication is
factually correct and consistent especially relevant for tribes and communities with a high
percentage of minorities. Project managers should provide timely and frequent
announcements of public meetings through local media and/or flyers and identify the
source where interested community members can get more information; develop

15
sponsoring and co-planning relationships with community groups, ensuring them shared
roles in developing agendas, setting of goals, and providing leadership and outreach; plan
meetings that are accessible and accommodating. Community leaders can assist in the
communication of information by (Gordon, 2004): Suggesting appropriate means of
informing the community, talking to their respective constituents, announcing meetings,
ensuring that participation efforts reflect cultural diversity and communication differences
among the ethnic groups, developing notices that are concise, understandable, and
available to the community/communities involved, mapping the capabilities and assets of
individuals, citizen associations, and local institutions, and building relationships and
alliances to respond to the project challenges; perform active and extensive outreach
methods, such as school programs, presentations in public meetings, workshops/seminars,
posters, advertisements in local papers, community newsletters, local cable access network
stations, websites, or mail posts.
A study by Ofori (2013) tried to distinguish and survey the nature of venture administration
hones and in addition the basic achievement variables for activities in Ghana. The study
received an exploratory approach and used an overview strategy to gather information on
venture administration practices of Ghanaian associations. Purposive testing was utilized
as a part of selecting the specimen which included 200 chiefs from various financial areas.
Comes about because of the study demonstrate that the basic variables that add to the
accomplishment of a venture incorporate top administration bolster, compelling
correspondence, clarity of venture reason and objectives, and partner contribution.
Documentation and spread of basic achievement calculates and best practices extend
administration will enhance the nature of venture administration in Ghana. The
nonappearance of an organized arrangement of documentation of venture administration
rehearses among Ghanaian venture directors has brought about a shortage of experimental
information. The failure of the scientists to test associations crosswise over Ghana is
considered as one of the study's restrictions, a case of a land limitation.
Communication practices play an important part in the exercise of citizenship, because they
strengthen processes of discussion and diffusion of information. For Sparks (2007), ‘it is
through a process of discussion and exchange that citizens come to hold opinions on public
matters’. The safeguarding of participation and citizens’ engagement in democracy is

16
possible through the existence and practice of public communication, which comprises
social mechanisms that facilitate debates and discussion of public issues (Demers and
Lavigne, 2007). Public communication practices are evident also in the use and creation of
alternative and citizens’ media, which, for Pettit, Salazar and Gumucio-Dagrón (2009),
‘contribute to processes of social and cultural construction, redefining norms and power
relations that exclude people’. Germán Rey (1998) remarks that the media are one of the
social instruments which directly influence the consolidation of the ‘public’ sphere. For
him, media have an important role in the building of citizenship, because one of the primary
conditions for the existence of a true citizenship is to have access to adequate information,
which enables individuals to make decisions and follow different topics. Citizen and
community media, where public communication is performed, are spaces to promote
dialogue both within and outside the communities. They have the advantage of having
more credibility and being closer to the people in the localities (Jaramillo, 2004).
Community and citizen media provide useful social contents, to facilitate other dynamics,
to expand the access to the symbolic construction of collective identities, and to raise the
selfesteem of communities generally excluded from the mainstream media (Rincón, 2002,
in Jaramillo, 2004). In this sense, ‘local and community media become an excellent and
productive alternative for the political action of communication

2.7 Capacity building influence on sustainability of development projects

Project capacity building is defined as process by which communities and other project
stakeholders increase their capacity to perform project functions, solve problems, define
and achieve project objectives and enhance sustainable development (UNDP, 1997).
Langran (2002) also defined capacity building as the ability of project initiators to
strengthen the capacities of local communities at the periphery through resource allocation
(financial, human, social and material), technical education, skill training (Frankish) and
organizational support.
According to Okello (2013) stakeholders’ capacity building consists of developing
knowledge, skills and operational capacity so that individuals and community or
stakeholders groups may achieve their project purposes. A study carried in Iran by Elham
(2008) found that participation in Monitoring and Evaluation of projects has allocated last

17
priority to itself among other levels of participation in NAP-SMLWR. They recommended
that training should be undertaken to increase the number of technical experts, extension
workers, community facilitators and local leaders with skills needed to carry out
participatory project monitoring and evaluation.
According to Riddell (2011) Monitoring and evaluation is typically conceptualized as
‘project specific’ –ending with the project, rather than as a potentially valuable tool that
could be embedded in local practice to inform ongoing quality improvement processes
through training. Capacity building is infrequently included as an explicitly resourced and
carefully planned project intention. Thus opportunities are lost to maximize the potential
gain in capacity building terms from the significant investment in M&E activities.
According to (Foster-Fishman, 2013) building organizational capacity can be achieved
through empowering others and through efficient and formalized processes and procedures
that clarify staff and member roles. A leader that builds organizational capacity for their
health professionals for example one that fosters a learning culture that supports
professional and personal development as an integral component to capacity building.
A study carried in Kiambu by Kimani (2015) recommends that local people as actors and
beneficiaries of participatory development should be trained and enlightened on the
expectations of participatory development. While local leaders should be equipped with
adequate participatory knowledge and skills, stakeholders should monitor and evaluate
activities of all development projects so as to check on their performances, costs and
expenditure.
According to Oyugi and Kibua (2015) funds should be provided under LATF for
dissemination and capacity building; the planning process should strictly follow a bottom
up approach; funds allocated for monitoring of LASDAP projects are ring-fenced and
auditing timely done and independent project monitoring and evaluation committees
should be established. Whereas LATF Regulations in Kenya requires the development of
LASDAP, there is no allocation of monies for capacity building of communities,
committees involved in project Monitoring and evaluation at community level, which
negatively impacts on the effective implementation of the fund. In addition, Syagga and
Associates recommends that internal capacity building be undertaken within LAs to enable

18
them properly embrace LASDAP process in comprehensive manner so as to include all
stakeholders.
According to Moseti(2013) challenges facing public participation in Kenya include lack of
staff skilled in participatory techniques and processes and community development
departments generally have very limited resources. Participation is still often dominated by
elite groups, and not all CBOs have representatives especially of the poor. Many
communities and CBOs remain unaware of Local Authority Fund (LATF) and LASDAP,
and have limited capacity to demand engagement and accountability from their local
authority.
A study carried in Kenya by Oyugi (2014) found that LATF has not met its objectives of
improving service delivery, financial management and debt reduction; and that the
performance of the programmes has been constrained by a number of factors such as
inadequate funds and human resources, lack of a coherent monitoring and evaluation
framework. The study recommends for the amendment of LATF regulations, provision of
funds for capacity building in LAs, and putting in place a coherent monitoring and
evaluation framework.
This idea of resource allocation is also supported by Blore, (2012) who suggest that
government should invest resources to build capacities of local communities to plan and
monitor their own projects based on their own analysis of the needs. But stakeholders
cannot do this effectively, unless they have access to resources, backed by law, accurate
information as well as the technical and capacities of the local authorities.

2.8 Theoretical Review

The researcher in this study delved into two theories with an aim to understand sustainable
development of community projects, the two theories are;
2.8.1 Social action theory
Social action theory is a theory that was proposed and coined by Max Weber in 1922; it
was developed for the sole purpose of observing how human behaviors relate to cause and
effect in the social set up. This theory puts into consideration the actions and reactions of
individuals because it assumes that human behavior and action vary depending on the
prevailing social conditions and how other people will be affected by the said actions.

19
When an individual finds out that a potential reaction will be undesirable he/she will
modify the action so as to bring out a desirable reaction.

This theory suggests that human beings are the sole and main factor that determines their
own needs, interests and desires (Adler, 1924). Personality development methods just like
Jane Nelson theory describe psychoanalytic method of having unwanted human behavior
first by identifying with the individual needs and desires (Nelson, 19110). This means that
the unwanted behavior exhibited by human beings may have a connection or relationship
with their existing unmet needs and desires.

This theory is relevant to the study because it is very important for the needs of the
community to be connected with the proposed sustainable objectives of the project so that
the target community can have a long term sustainability aspect of development projects.
The proposed change to the community should be in line with their needs and this can be
achieved by engaging the target community in all processes so that they can modify their
actions so as to bring out desirable effects to the project. This theory however has a
shortcoming of viewing sustainability from a narrow perspective of meeting the need,
sustainability is a wide concept that requires to be viewed from various angles so that it
can be achieved, not just meeting the community needs.

2.8.2 Institutional theory

Developed by Nelson Phillips asserts that process of forming institutions is paramount to
sustainable development (Schneirberg and Soule, 2005). Institutions are societal structures
that are made of normative, cultural- cognitive and regulative elements that bring together
activities and resources to provide meaning and stability to social life. These institutions
build the society and shape human interaction in everyday life; they enable
accomplishment of certain tasks because they allow desirable actions to be realized by
continual repetition that gives rise to formation norms (Green, Li & Nohria, 2009). By
embracing norm formation, community members will no longer do things just because it
is a rule but because it is a norm (Scott, 1991).

Edward and Hulme (1992) through their work concluded that institution building is an
important aspect facing Non-Governmental Organizations in their pursuit of community
sustainable development. This theory was looked into by the researcher in this study to

20
complement social action theory that only focuses on meeting community need. Since
institutional theory is multi-faceted, it was appropriate to be used so as one can get a wide
and diverse view of project sustainability

2.9 Conceptual Framework

Mugenda (2008) defines conceptual framework as a brief description of the phenomenon
under study led by a graphical or visual depiction of the major variables of the study.
According to Young (2009), conceptual framework is a diagrammatical symbol that shows
the affiliation between dependent variable and independent variables.

21
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework

Independent variable Dependent variable

Community participation

Planning
 Nature of
consultation
 Decision making

Labour contribution
 Time
 Material Sustainability of
 Monitoring and development projects
Evaluation
Financial and social viability
of projects
Communication Extended value/benefit to the
 Methods of beneficiaries
communication Length of period project
 Evidence of minutes continues after donor funding
 Information sharing ceases
Number of people continuing
to benefit from the project
after donor funding
Capacity building
 No. of training
 No. of trainers
 Types of capacity
building
Intervening variable
Government policies
Donor policies
Donor roles

22
2.10 Literature Summary
The literature reviewed in this chapter has shown that participation of local communities
has an influence on the sustainability of development projects. Generally the authors
acknowledge that community participation at all stages of project development enhances
sustainability of projects. The involvement of the locals must be active as opposed to
passive involvement whereby locals are involved in decision making and in sharing of
benefits and opportunities. The study was based on the theory institutional and social actin
theory. The two theories are complimentary to each other and they both argue that citizen
must actively be involved in every step of decision making process. When locals are given
priority to make their own decision, they can identify their own problems and solutions.
This enhances ownership in project implementation.

Though the studies reviewed have shown existence of positive and significant relationship
of community participation on project sustainability, they have been conducted in other
areas and not necessarily in development projects. Other studies reviewed in the study have
only been conducted in developed countries little has been conducted in developing
countries and in particular Kenya. There is therefore the need to conduct a study on
influence of community participation on project sustainability of NGOs in Mathare slums.
Kaur (2013) conducted a study on the influence of community participation in project
sustainability in the in the Philippines ran irrigation projects. The study however was
conducted in developed countries and did not focus on local case. The study did not itemize
on the different areas of community participation.
2.11 Research Gaps
Reviewing literature provided information emphasing to several factors that affect the
sustainability of donor funded projects but failed to give the contribution of donors towards
project sustainability in terms of community empowerment and capacity bulding. Donor
dependency is a major problem that gives rise to failure of the projects because the
community will continue depending on donors for resources to support the project at all
stages even after its completion, community members should be resource independent and
empowered so as to sustain and maintain their projects on their own after the withdrawal
of external donation. Donors should play a key role in training the community members on

23
financial and wealth creation skills and also monitor the finances given to them for
effectiveness and efficiency.

24
 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
This chapter outlined the methodology that was used in the study. The chapter covers the
research design, target population, sample size, instruments, validity and reliability, data
collection and data analysis.

3.2 Research Design

A research design is a blue print that guides the researcher in collecting, analyzing and
interpreting observed facts Orodho, (2003). This study will use the descriptive Survey
design. A descriptive study is concerned with finding out who, what, where, when, or how
much Cooper and Schindler,(2006). The descriptive design was used since it ensures
complete description of the situation as it is, making sure that there is minimum bias in the
collection of data and to reduce errors in interpreting the data collected. The design
provided a detailed and highly accurate picture of the situation useful in literature review.
3.3 Target Population
According to Kothari, (2004) a population is referred to as the total of items about which
information is required. The target population of the study will be Mathare 4B village
settlers. Mathare 4B village/settlement has a total pupation of approximately 15, 000
people (Population census, 1999). The average household size is 5 with a population
growth rate of 4.8% per year which is the population growth rate of Nairobi. The total
household number in the settlement is approximately 3,000. The number of dwelling unit’s
per hectare is 395. The population density is very high with an average of 1,800 people per
hectare. The total population is 5,681.
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Procedures
Sample size determination aims at selecting part of the population from which information
will be drawn to form conclusions about the entire population.
The following formula by Miller and Brewer (2003) was used to select the sample size for
the study:

Where

25
α is the level of significance or margin of error(9%),
n is the sample size and
N is the sample frame.
In order to have a fair representative sample size, the sample size was determined at a 91%
confidence level (At a 0.09 significance level).
n = 5,681/ 1+5,681(0.09)2
n = 121 households (Sample Frame used 120 households)

3.5 Research Instruments

The researcher used questionnaire to obtain primary data on the influence of community
participation on sustainability of development projects by non-governmental organizations
in Mathare informal settlement. The questions was developed based on information and
experiences derived from review of literature on influence of community participation on
sustainability of development projects. The selection of the tool was guided by the nature
of the data to be collected, availability of such data as well as the objective of the study.
The questionnaire was used since the study is concerned mainly with variables which
cannot be observed directly such as views, opinions and the population is literate and will
not have difficulty in responding to the questions. Questionnaires was used because they
are straight forward and less time consuming for both the researcher and the participants.
Questionnaires are appropriate for studies since they capture information that’s not directly
observable as they inquire about feelings, attitudes, accomplishments as well as experience
of the individuals Borg and Gall, (1910). Satyana rayana, (1983), stated that a
questionnaire is useful in obtaining information. This is largely because the participants are
not manipulated in any way by the researcher. The According to Borg and Gall (1910),
questionnaires have the added advantage of being less costly and using less time as
instrument of data collection.
The study included an interview guide to collect data. Interview guide was used by the key
informants that include government officials, project officials and the settlement elders.

26
3.5.1 Piloting of Instrument
The researcher carried out a pilot study for pre testing of the data collection instruments
before the main and actual process of collecting data, this was done to clarify variables and
be able to check the validity and reliability of the said instruments (Mugenda & Mugenda,
2003). This pretest process was carried out on 10% of the total population of residence of
Huruma area. All the variable in the tool were okey and fit for data collection.
3.5.2 Validity
The quality of research is related to the possession of the quality of strength, worth, or
value (Keeves, 1997). A valid research finding is one in which there is similarity between
the reality that exists in the world and the description of that reality. Validity is concerned
with the degree to which a test appears to measure what it purports to measure (Borg &
Gall, 1989). Content validity of the instrument will be established by ensuring that each
item measures the intended objective. The instrument was scrutinized by my project
supervisor to ascertain whether they address the objectives of the study adequately. Tools
of our research which were questionnaires and interview guides will be presented to the
professionals from the University of Nairobi including my supervisor who will critique
them to ensure effectiveness.
3.5.3 Reliability
Reliability is a measure of the degree to which a research instrument yields consistent
results after repeated trials (Nsubuga, 2000). The reliability of this research instruments
will be established through test retest method. The questionnaires was administered to
community member’s beneficiaries who are not part of the sample. The questionnaire was
split into two, administered on participants and the results correlated mathematically
through use of spearman correlation to determine the level of consistency of these results.

3.6 Data Collection Procedure

The researcher obtained a permit from National Council for Sciences and Technology
before beginning the process of collecting data, after obtaining the permit, the researcher
made a pre visit to the project site so as to familiarize oneself with the respondents and the
general environment of the place. The researcher made use of the local community leaders
to identify the respondents and other people who were beneficial in the success of data

27
collection. The researcher had a meeting with the respondents and informed them of the
survey and if they are willing to answer some questions, the research assistants had the soft
copy of the questionnaire installed on phone so they did not have to distribute hard copies.
The respondents who accepted to participate were asked questions orally and their
responses recorded on phone. The researcher arranged for interviews and discussions with
the settlement committee thereafter the responses were recorded.

3.7 Data Analysis Techniques

Data analysis is a process of checking, cleaning, transformation and modeling data with
the goal of discovering useful information that can be used to make important conclusions
and decisions (Hungler, 1997). The researcher retrieved all the filled questionnaires from
the mobile phone and the recordings of the interviews and discussions of the settlement
committee for analysis. After collections these instruments were checked for
inconsistencies and inaccuracies after which the data was coded by allocating dummy
numerical to the different responses by respondents. This was in ordinal scale and the
values computed by use of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and the data
cleaned to check for completeness and accuracy. The keyed in data will be analyzed by use
of SPSS and presented inform of percentages and frequencies and results presented in a
tabular form. The study will use correlation analysis to analyze data so as to understand the
relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

3.8 Ethical Issues

Before data collection, a research permit was obtained from The National Commission for
Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), on introduction by the University of
Nairobi. Letters was written to SHOFCO officials explaining the purpose of the study and
to request for a specific date when the researcher would visit them and administer the
questionnaire. The participants were given a chance to participate voluntarily and will be
given an informed consent. These will be to guarantee that all participants are choosing to
participate of their own free will and that they have been fully informed regarding the
procedures of the research project and any potential risks. Participants were informed of
the confidentiality in the study so to ensure respect for the dignity of participants in the
study. Their confidential information will be only accessed by the researcher and the

28
supervisor. They were not required to provide any identifying details and as such,
transcripts and the final report will not reflect the subjects identifying information such as
their names, in the case they are not comfortable with it. After the study was completed
and a final report written, the tools used to collect data will be destroyed.

3.9 Operationalization of variables

This section analyses the operational definition of variables on the influence of community
participation on sustainability of development projects by non-governmental organizations
in Mathare slums.

Table 3.1: Operationalization variables

Variable Measureme Research Tools of Analysis Type of

nt Approach Statistics
scale
To find out Ordinal Quantitative Mean, Descriptive
how planning Percentage, mode, Inferential
influence on Standard deviation
sustainability
of
development
projects by
NGOs in
mathare
slums

To establish Ratio Quantitative Mean,Percentage,mode,Sta Descriptive

how labour ndard deviation Inferential
contributions
influence on
sustainability
of
development
projects by
NGOs in
mathare
slums

29
To determine Mean, Percentage, mode,
how Ratio Quantitative Standard deviation Descriptive
communicati Inferential
on influence
on
sustainability
of
development
projects by
NGOs in
mathare
slums

To find out Ratio Quantitative Mean, Percentage, mode Descriptive

how capacity Inferential
building
influence on
sustainability
of
development
projects by
NGOs in
mathare
slums

30
 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND
INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introduction
The chapter presented the results arising from the process of data analysis. The chapter
covered the questionnaire return rate, demographic information, and influence of planning
on sustainability of development projects, influence of labor contributions on sustainability
of development projects, influence of communication on sustainability of development
projects and influence of capacity building on sustainability of development projects.

4.2 Questionnaire Return rate

The study realized a return rate of 92% whereby from a total study sample of 120
households, information obtained from 110 households was found to be valid and thus,
used to inform the study. In regards to the key informants, the study obtained responses
from 1 area chief, 3 project officials and 2 settlement elders.
Frequency
Households 110
Chief 1
Projects officials 3
Settlement elders 2

4.3 Demographic Characteristic of the respondents

The study sought to understand the background characteristics of the study population by
enquiring on the gender, age and highest level of education of the respondents.
Demographic information provides data regarding research participants and was necessary
in determining whether the individuals in the study were a representative sample of the
target population for generalization purposes. Capturing demographic information enabled
the researcher to actually determine whether the information that was being sought by the
study was from the right sources.

31
4.3.1 Gender of the respondent
The study sought to establish the gender distribution of the participants from the
households that were enjoined in the study. The findings of this enquiry are presented in
table 4.1.
Table 4.1: Gender distribution of respondents
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 55 50
Female 55 50

The study established that there was an equal number of male participants and female
participants. Female respondents were 50% (55) while male respondents were 50% (55).
This was seen as equal representation in the study whereby both genders had an equal
opportunity of participation not only in the study but also in the respective development
projects. The findings above indicate equal community participation regardless of the
gender.
4.3.2 Age
The study further sought to establish the distribution of study participants in terms of age
groups. The results of this enquiry are presented in Figure 4.2. It was noted by the
researcher that most of the study participants were aged between the ages of 25 and 29
years while the least number of participants were between 40 and 44 years. Thus, 29.1%
were aged below 24 years, 36.4% were aged between 25 and 29 years, 31.8% were aged
between 30 and 34 years, 1.8% were aged between 35 and 39 years and 0.9% were aged
between 40 and 44 years. The study findings establish that the majority of the respondents
are of the active age between 25 to 34 years. Such age demographic is suitable for
sustainability and participation in the project through provision of labor and capacity
building.
Table 4.2: Age distribution of respondents
Age Frequency Percentage
Below 24 32 29%
25-29 40 36%
30-34 35 32%

32
 35-39 2 2%
40-44 1 1%
4.3.3 Highest level of education
It was also important for the study to understand the highest level of education attained by
the respondents as this would enable the researcher examine whether the respondents could
adequately comprehend the aspects the study was interrogating. The results of this enquiry
are presented in table 4.3.
Table 4.3: Distribution of respondents according to highest level of education
Education level Frequency Percentage
None 17 15%
Primary 46 42%
Secondary 30 28%

Tertiary 17 15%
The study established that most of the respondents had attained primary level of education
while the least number of respondents had no form of formal education. Those with tertiary
level of education were 15%, those with secondary level were 28%, and those with primary
level were 42% while those with no formal education were 15%. From this foregoing, the
researcher noted that there were commendable literacy levels among the study participants
save for the few cases where the participants’ literacy levels were low. Community
participation involve planning meetings and capacity building which all this are factor for
literacy level.
4.4 Influence of planning on sustainability of development projects
Experience has shown that great care at the time of planning leads to more successful
implementation of projects. The study therefore sought to validate this observation by
interrogating the influence of planning on sustainability of development projects. The
results of this enquiry are presented in Table 4.4
Table 4.4: Influence of planning on sustainability of development projects
SD D N A SA

The community participates in meetings for planning 11.8% 34.5% 24.5% 21.8% 7.3%

33
 The community’s ideas and contributions are 10.9% 28.2% 25.5% 28.2% 7.3%
incorporated in the design of the projects
The community participates in coming up with the 38.2% 43.6% 13.6% 3.7% 0.9%
cost and budget for the project
The community mobilizes resources (for example 28.2% 50% 21.8% 0 0
money, materials, labour, land etc.) towards
realization of the project
The community is involved in coming up with a plan 20% 50% 28.2% 1.8% 0
for implementing project
The community is involved in coming up with a plan 10.9% 20% 27.3% 34.5% 7.3%
for measuring performance and impact of the project
(monitoring and evaluation plan).

It was established that a cumulative 46.3% of the respondents were in disagreement that
the community participates in meetings for planning with 24.5% being neutral and a
cumulative 29.1% being in agreement. A cumulative 39.1% of the respondents were in
disagreement that the community’s ideas and contributions are incorporated in the design
of the projects with 25.5% being neutral and a cumulative 35.5% being in agreement. A
cumulative 81.8% of the respondents were in agreement that the community participates
in coming up with the cost and budget for the project with 13.6% being neutral and a
cumulative 4.6% agreeing with the statement. A cumulative 78.2% of the respondents were
in disagreement that the community mobilizes resources (for example money, materials,
labour, land) towards realization of the project with 21.8% expressing neutral opinion. A
cumulative 70% of the respondents were in disagreement with the statement that the
community was involved in coming up with a plan for implementing projects with 28.2%
being neutral and 1.8% being in agreement. A cumulative 30.9% of the respondents were
in agreement that the community is involved in coming up with a plan for measuring
performance and impact of the project (monitoring and evaluation plan) with 27.3% being
neutral while a cumulative 41.8% were in agreement.

34
The study therefore noted that the community was involved in the planning process and
specifically creating plans for measuring performance and the impacts of the projects on
the intended beneficiaries. However, the study also noted deficiencies in community
mobilization for resources, community involvement in budgeting, participation in planning
meetings and being involved in coming up with project implementation plans. In the same
vein, the community’s ideas and contributions were to a small extent incorporated in the
design of projects.
Key informants in the study expressed different opinions altogether. For example, a project
official from SHOFCO noted that;
The community does not contribute any resource except voluntary services
sometime from the youths.
Another project official noted that;
On the question of whether the ideas of the community are incorporated into the
program......SHOFCO always conducts a need assessment survey for instance the
ECD program that establish the priority needs of the people in the area. Most kids
in the area were normally taken to day care facility by their parents where it is not
safe and also the hygiene of the environment is not always conducive therefor there
was need to establish a more affordable and safe ECD facility in the area
The area chief interviewed noted that;
The organizations here establish programs in the area out of the need for a
sustainable livelihood for the youth to avoid crime and such programs are put in to
effect with the input of the community say, through their representatives.
The village elder interviewed noted that;
The project officials involve community leaders, women group leaders and youth
leaders where they conduct frequent meetings in each village to get views from these
leaders and also give them information on projects they are running.

This foregoing therefore casted mixed reactions on the incorporation of planning and the
input of the community in projects. However, from the analysis, the researcher noted that
community participation was wanting and that much effort needed to be put in especially

35
in terms of needs assessment and prioritization of projects from the perspective of the
community.

4.5 Influence of labor contributions on sustainability of development projects

The contribution of the community to development projects in the form of unpaid labor
was then widely accepted as an important constituent in sustainability of development
projects. As long as developers convince a local community to volunteer labor, full
participation as well as acceptance of the project is guaranteed. The study sought to
establish the influence of labor contributions on the sustainability of development projects
in the area and presented the results in Table 4.5.

Table 4.5 Influence of labor contributions on sustainability of development projects

SD D N A SA

By increasing the ability of people, projects, and or 7.3% 18.2% 27.3% 33.6% 13.6%
communities to be self-reliant, they are then able to
contribute towards the sustainability of
development projects
Community people are invited to make 11.8% 34.5% 22.7% 20.9% 10.8%
contributions of labor and/or other resources which
is also seen as a form of cost-sharing
The community people participate in certain 4.5% 20.9% 31.8% 31.8% 10.9%
specific temporary tasks mainly for the development
of their community
Good governance provides public with democratic 9.1% 18.2% 30.9% 19.1% 22.7%
and equal opportunities to participate
Most often community gives a voluntary service to 8.2% 31.8% 43.6% 13.6% 2.7%
the organization
Members are not paid for being members but are 13.6% 18.2% 13.6% 39.1% 15.5%
happy to be part of like-minded people to perform
social services

A cumulative 25.5% were in disagreement that by increasing the ability of people, projects,
and or communities to be self-reliant, they are then able to contribute towards the
sustainability of development projects with 27.3% being neutral and agreeing with the
statement. A cumulative 46.3% were in disagreement that community people are invited to
make contributions of labor and/or other resources which is also seen as a form of cost-
sharing with 22.7% being neutral and a cumulative 31.7% being in agreement. A

36
cumulative 25.4% were in agreement that the community people participate in certain
specific temporary tasks mainly for the development of their community with 31.8% being
neutral and 42.7% being in agreement. A cumulative 27.3% were in disagreement that
good governance provides public with democratic and equal opportunities to participate
with 30.9% being neutral and a cumulative 41.8% being in agreement. A cumulative 40%
of the respondents were in disagreement that most of the community gives voluntary
services to the organization with 43.6% being neutral and a cumulative 16.3% being in
agreement. A cumulative 31.8% were in disagreement that members are not paid for being
members but are happy to be part of like-minded people to perform social services with
13.6% being neutral and a cumulative 44.6% being in agreement.

The researcher observe that members of the community participated in the projects without
expecting payment with a good percentage (16.3%) volunteering their services. Cost
sharing- an important aspect in development projects was lacking despite the fact that there
were equal opportunities for the community members to participate in the projects.

The aspect of the community rendering voluntary services was equally noted by the key
informants. A project official interviewed by the researcher noted that;

The community does not contribute any resource except voluntary services
sometime from the youths.
In some cases, the study noted that groups within the community offer their services and

give unpaid labor towards project activities as noted by the area chief interviewed;

Some groups especially the women groups and youth groups go out of their way
to work on these projects even without being paid because they understand the
value of the projects and the benefits the projects has to the larger community.
The study clearly noted that communities get involved in community development
activities for their individual and collective benefits. Participants are not paid for working
or rendering services and their skills but are happy to be part of like-minded people to
perform social services, to advance some course or to seek self-help through such
organizations (Woodard, 2007).

37
4.6 Influence of communication on sustainability of development projects
Project communication improves coordination and collaboration in overseeing
advancement programs and to pick up contributor and institutional support. The study
sought to establish the influence of communication on the sustainability of development
projects. The results of this enquiry are presented in Table 4.6.

Table 4.6: Influence of communication on project sustainability

SD D N A SA

Community participation in project improves 10% 28.2% 32.7% 19.1% 10%

coordination and collaboration
Community participation in project communication 7.3% 14.5% 22.7% 32.7% 22.7%
helps in engaging the group individuals to perceive
important issues
Communication is usually correct, consistent and 6.4% 11.8% 36.4% 24.5% 20.9%
relevant for the organization communities
There is usually timely and frequent announcements 16.4% 30% 25.5% 20% 8.2%
of public meetings through local channels
Communication practices play an important part in 6.4% 19.1% 12.7% 47.3% 14.5%
the exercise of community project
The safeguarding of participation and citizens’ 10.9% 19.1% 26.4% 30.9% 12.7%
engagement in democracy is possible through the
existence and practice of public communication,
which comprises social mechanisms that facilitate
debates and discussion of public issues

A cumulative 38.2% of the respondents were in disagreement that community participation

in projects improves coordination and collaboration with 32.7% being neutral and 29.1%
being in agreement. A cumulative 21.8% of the respondents were in disagreement that
community participation in project communication helps in engaging the group individuals
to perceive important issues with 22.7% being neutral and a cumulative 55.4% being in
agreement. A cumulative 18.2% were in disagreement that communication is usually
correct, consistent and relevant for the organizations and communities with 36.4% being
neutral and a cumulative 45.5% being in agreement. A cumulative 46.4% were in
disagreement that there is usually timely and frequent announcements of public meetings
through local channels with 25.5% being neutral and a cumulative 28.2% being in
agreement. A cumulative 25.5% were in agreement that communication practices play an

38
important part in the exercise of community projects with 12.7% being neutral and a
cumulative 61.8% being in agreement. A cumulative 30% were in disagreement that the
safeguarding of participation and citizens’ engagement in democracy is possible through
the existence and practice of public communication, which comprises social mechanisms
that facilitate debates and discussion of public issues with 26.4% being neutral and a
cumulative 43.6% being in agreement.

The researcher therefore noted that despite most respondents (38.2%) not believing that
community participation in projects improves coordination and collaboration, the general
feeling by the respondents was that community participation in project communication
helps in engaging the group individuals to perceive important issues. It was also noted that
communication was usually correct, consistent and relevant despite the fact that this
communication was not usually timely and frequently disseminated. The study established
that communication practices play an important part in the exercise of community projects.
On their part, key informants in the study conquered with the observations made from the

questionnaire responses. A project official interviewed noted that;

SHOFCO always conducts mapping of village first and at least then identify a
contact person in the mapped areas. This can either be the youth leader, women
group leaders, village elders, social workers among others. These contact people
are used to communicate vital details to the people and relay feedback to project
implementers.
Another official further noted that;
We also use their staff who stay around the area to pass out information to the
community within the areas where they live.
The study however established that there were challenges in using communication to

enhance sustainability of development projects. The area chief interviewed noted that;

The project officials face communication challenges sometimes from the contact
persons in the village out of personal interest. For example, cases such as the
“elders” wanting money or gifts so as to pass the message to the people and to
encourage project acceptance have been witnessed.

39
As noted by Roger, Rojas and Mayer (1993) it is important that communication be factually
correct and consistent especially relevant for tribes and communities with a high
percentage of minorities. Communication practices play an important part in the exercise
of citizenship, because they strengthen processes of discussion and diffusion of
information.
4.7 Influence of capacity building on sustainability of development projects
Stakeholders’ capacity building consists of developing knowledge, skills and operational
capacity so that individuals and community or stakeholders groups may achieve their
project purposes. The study sought to establish the influence of capacity building on
sustainability of development projects. The results are presented in Table 4.7.

40
Table 4.7: Influence of capacity building on sustainability of development projects

SD D N A SA

Capacity building helps to strengthen the capacities 10.9% 19.1% 15.5% 46.4% 8.2%
of local communities at the periphery through
resource allocation
Capacity building consists of developing 12.7% 21.8% 26.4% 30.9% 8.2%
knowledge, skills and operational capacity so that
community groups may achieve their project
purposes
Capacity can be achieved through empowering 1.8% 11.8% 22.7% 37.3% 26.4%
others and through efficient and formalized
processes
Beneficiaries of participatory development are 15.5% 21.8% 15.4% 24.5% 22.7%
trained and enlightened on the expectations of
participatory development
Government has invested resources to build 8.2% 28.2% 15.5% 38.2% 10%
capacities of local communities to plan and monitor
their own projects

A cumulative 30% of the respondents were in disagreement that capacity building helps to
strengthen the capacities of local communities at the periphery through resource allocation
with 15.5% being neutral and a cumulative 54.6% being in agreement. A cumulative 34.5%
of the respondents were in disagreement that capacity building consists of developing
knowledge, skills and operational capacity so that community groups may achieve their
project purposes with 26.4% being neutral and a cumulative 39.1% being in disagreement.
A cumulative 13.6% were in disagreement that capacity can be achieved through
empowering others and through efficient and formalized processes with 22.7% and a
cumulative 63.7% being in agreement. A cumulative 37.3% were in disagreement that
beneficiaries of participatory development are trained and enlightened on the expectations
of participatory development with 15.4% being neutral and a cumulative 47.2% being in
agreement. A cumulative 36.4% were in disagreement that government has invested
resources to build capacities of local communities to plan and monitor their own projects
with 15.5% being neutral and 48.2% being in agreement.

41
The study observed that respondents were more of the opinion that capacity building helps
to strengthen capacities of local communities through resource allocation. This capacity
building consisted knowledge, skills and operational capacity for achievement of project
purposes. It was also clear that the government had invested resources to build capacity for
planning and monitoring of projects.

The key informants in the study conquered with the responses from the questionnaires in
diverse ways.
One of the officials from SHOFCO noted that;
We have a registered safe house for girls who are rescued in Mathare. We also
have permits for constructions of relevant structures for installation of water
infrastructure. All these have been facilitated by various government agencies.
One other official noted that;
We have registered linkages where we can refer patients from our local clinics to
other government hospitals for specialized treatments. We also have developed
links with government agencies that address issue on gender based violence,
maternal health, child protection among others.
The area chief noted that there were special arrangements whereby project officials would

be offered security as well as their projects and installations. He noted;

Projects and project officials come here, we agree on how to cooperate in terms of
providing security, accommodation and other logistical support just to make sure
the projects do not hit a dead end.
The study observed that capacity building not only involved internal measures but also
creating linkages with other stakeholders. Building organizational capacity can be achieved
through empowering others and through efficient and formalized processes and procedures
that clarify staff and member role.

4.8 Project sustainability

The study sought to establish the extent with which the respondents from the Mathare area
agree to the statement on sustainability of the projects initiated by the SHOFCO within the
area. The results of the findings are presented in table 4.8 below.

42
Table 4. 8 sustainability of project.

SD D N A SA

The number of water kiosk and sanitation blocks 8.9% 14.1% 19.5% 44.4% 13.2%
have increased in past five years.
The number of ECD facility have increased within 12.7% 26.8% 26.4% 25.9% 8.2%
Mathare
There is increased number of beneficiary of the 3.8% 18.8% 22.7% 30.3% 24.4%
livelihood sustainability program.
Patients can easily access medical and clinical 20.5% 21.8% 10.4% 24.5% 22.7%
services at the SHOFCO clinic facility.
Government has invested resources to build 18.2% 48.2% 15.5% 8.2% 10%
capacities of local communities to plan and monitor
their own projects

From the results above the study establish that the number of water kiosk and sanitation
blocks have increased in the past five year. This was affirmed by a cumulative percentage
of 57 percent of the responded. 32 percent of the respondent had contrary opinion where
they disagree. On whether the number of ECD facility have increased in the area,
accumulative 34 percent of the respondent concurred while 39 percent disagreed.48 percent
of the respondent affirmed that patients were easily accessing the medical facility and clinic
services while a cumulative 41 percent disagreed. Lastly the study required the respondent
to indicate whether government has invested resources for capacity building for the
community to plan and monitor their own projects. Majority of the respondent of a
cumulative percentage of 62 disagreed while 18 percent agreed. The study observed that
even though most of the project initiated in mathare are sustainable, more work needs to
be done by both the local and the national level together with other stakeholders to ensure
more resource are invested for the sustainability of the already existing projects.
4.9 Correlation analysis of community participation and sustainability of projects
The main objective of the study was to establish the influence of community participation
on sustainability of projects. The study performed a Pearson correlation and the results
presented in table 4.9 below.

Table 4.9: Pearson correlation analysis

Correlations

43
 sustainabil Planning_sc Labour_sc Communication_s
ity score ore ore core
Pearson
Correlati 1 .268** .203* .201*
Sustainability_sco on
re Sig. (2-
.008 .047 .032
tailed)
N 110 110 110 110
Pearson
Correlati .268** 1 .385** .097
on
Planning_score
Sig. (2-
.008 .000 .346
tailed)
N 110 110 110 110
Pearson
Correlati .203* .385** 1 .112
on
Labour_score
Sig. (2-
.047 .000 .277
tailed)
N 110 110 110 110
Pearson
Correlati .203* .097 .112 1
communication_s on
core Sig. (2-
.047 .346 .277
tailed)
N 110 110 110 110

Pearson
Correlati .253* .067 .152 1
Capacity on
building_score Sig. (2-
.017 .416 .237
tailed)
N 110 110 110 110

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

From the results above the study, the study established that there was a positive 0.268
relationship between sustainability and project planning. 0.203 for labor contribution and
0.201 for communication. This means, project planning has a significant influence on
sustainability of the project having a p-value of 0.008 which less than the alpha value at
95% confidence level The study also establish that all the other factor of community

44
participation have a positive influence on sustainability of the projects having positive
correlation coefficient.

4.10 Discussions
The study established that the community was involved in the planning process and
specifically creating plans for measuring performance and the impacts of the projects on
the intended beneficiaries. However, the study also noted deficiencies in community
mobilization for resources, community involvement in budgeting, participation in planning
meetings and being involved in coming up with project implementation plans. In the same
vein, the community’s ideas and contributions were to a small extent incorporated in the
design of projects. From the analysis, the researcher noted that community participation
was wanting and that much effort needed to be put in especially in terms of needs
assessment and prioritization of projects from the perspective of the community.
For sustainable development to be realized, the community must play a role (Pearce 1994).
Sustainable development should be defined by people themselves, to represent an ongoing
process of self-realization and empowerment. The community is supposed to be brought
into focus through participation. As noted by Redclift (1992), without the community
becoming both the architects and engineers of the concept, sustainability of the project may
not be achieved since the community is unlikely to take responsibility for something they
do not own themselves.

Decision making that occurs when beneficiaries have a decision-making role in matters of
project design and implementation may be made exclusively by beneficiaries or jointly
with others on specific issues or aspects relating to a project. Decision making implies a
much greater degree of control or influence on projects by beneficiaries than under
consultation or information sharing. Thus, the study noted that allowing the community,
either directly or through representatives to take part in planning of development projects
instills a sense of sustainability in the projects themselves.

It was established that community provided labor with much ease and without expecting
pay or reward in the course. The researcher observe that members of the community

45
participated in the projects without expecting payment with a good percentage (16.3%)
volunteering their services. Cost sharing- an important aspect in development projects was
lacking despite the fact that there were equal opportunities for the community members to
participate in the projects. The study clearly noted that communities get involved in
community development activities for their individual and collective benefits. Participants
are not paid for working or rendering services and their skills but are happy to be part of
like-minded people to perform social services, to advance some course or to seek self-help
through such organizations (Woodard, 2007).

The study established that the people offer their skills and services without force or
coercion but through collective agreement and individual’s willingness. This is the view of
Hillman (2010) who sees community development as a method of helping local
communities to become aware of their needs, to assess their resources more realistically,
to organize themselves and their resources in such a way as to satisfy their needs and in so
doing, acquire the attitude, experiences and cooperative skills for repeating this process
again and again on their own initiative. The impetus for development should therefore
come from the bottom or rather it is important to feel the pulse of the average person in the
community and in that spirit, elicit from him, his/her vision of development and how the
development can be sustained.

The researcher noted that despite most respondents (38.2%) not believing that community
participation in projects improves coordination and collaboration, the general feeling by
the respondents was that community participation in project communication helps in
engaging the group individuals to perceive important issues. It was also noted that
communication was usually correct, consistent and relevant despite the fact that this
communication was not usually timely and frequently disseminated. The study established
that communication practices play an important part in the exercise of community projects.

As noted by Roger, Rojas and Mayer (1993) it is important that communication be factually
correct and consistent especially relevant for tribes and communities with a high
percentage of minorities. Communication practices play an important part in the exercise

46
of citizenship, because they strengthen processes of discussion and diffusion of
information. With correspondence, the venture recipients turn into the key performing
artists to make advancement programs effective. Correspondence is basic as it empowers
organizers while recognizing and detailing advancement projects to counsel with
individuals keeping in mind the end goal.

Project managers should provide timely and frequent announcements of public meetings
through local media and/or flyers and identify the source where interested community
members can get more information; develop sponsoring and co-planning relationships with
community groups, ensuring them shared roles in developing agendas, setting of goals, and
providing leadership and outreach; plan meetings that are accessible and accommodating.
As noted by Gordon (2004) community leaders can assist in the communication of
information by using the various channels at their disposal.

The study observed that respondents were more of the opinion that capacity building helps
to strengthen capacities of local communities through resource allocation. This capacity
building consisted knowledge, skills and operational capacity for achievement of project
purposes. It was also clear that the government had invested resources to build capacity for
planning and monitoring of projects. The study observed that capacity building not only
involved internal measures but also creating linkages with other stakeholders. Building
organizational capacity can be achieved through empowering others and through efficient
and formalized processes and procedures that clarify staff and member roles.
The idea of resource allocation is supported by Blore (2012) who suggest that government
should invest resources to build capacities of local communities to plan and monitor their
own projects based on their own analysis of the needs. But stakeholders cannot do this
effectively, unless they have access to resources, backed by law, accurate information as
well as the technical and capacities of the local authorities.

47
 CHAPTER FIVE:CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction
Project sustainability is a major challenge not only in Kenya, but also in many developing
countries. Lack of community participation has been cited by scholars as one of the key
reasons for the failure of donor funded community projects. The study sought to find out
the influence of community participation on the sustainability of non-governmental
organization in Kenya with SHOFCO organization being the case study. The specific
objectives of the study were to find out how project planning influences sustainability of
development projects in Mathare informal settlement to establish how labor contributions
influence on sustainability of development projects in Mathare informal settlement, to
determine how communication influence on sustainability of development projects by in
Mathare informal settlement and to find out how capacity building influence on
sustainability of development projects by in Mathare informal settlement.

After reviewing literature related to the study, the researcher settled for the social action
theory and the institutional theory to inform the theoretical basis for the study. The study
adopted a descriptive research design. Mathare 4B was the study site while a total of 15,000
people (3,000 households) formed the study population. A total of 120 households were
sampled and included in the study. The study made of use questionnaires and key informant
interview guides to collect primary data. The key informants in the study included project
officials, village elders and government officials in the area.

5.2 Conclusions
The study concluded that the community was involved in the planning process of projects
in the area. However, the study noted deficiencies in community mobilization for
resources, community involvement in budgeting, participation in planning meetings and
being involved in coming up with project implementation plans in addition to the
community’s ideas and contributions not being adequately incorporated in the design of
projects.

48
The study concluded that members of the community participated in the projects without
expecting payment whereby most of the members volunteered towards the projects.
However, the study noted that some crucial aspects were not practiced for example cost
sharing despite the fact that there were equal opportunities for the community members to
participate in the projects.

The study concluded that communication practices play an important part in the exercise
of community projects. Community participation in project communication helps in
engaging the group individuals to perceive important issues. It was noted that
communication was usually correct, consistent and relevant despite the fact that this
communication was not usually timely and frequently disseminated.

The study concluded that capacity building helps to strengthen capacities of local
communities through resource allocation and thus promising project sustainability. This
capacity building consisted knowledge, skills and operational capacity for achievement of
project purposes. It was also clear that the government had invested resources to build
capacity for planning and monitoring of projects.
5.3 Recommendations
The study conclude that community participation have significant influence on
sustainability of the project and therefore any project that intend to benefit informal
settlement must involve community participation. This study therefor make the following
recommendation;
Organization should involve representative of the community during the planning
meetings before initiation of projects this will ensure participation of the community right
from the inception of the projects and also give a chance for the community to air their
views.
Community’s labor contribution influence the sustainability of the project and non-
governmental organization should call for volunteers to offer labor.as a result sustainability
of the project will be guaranteed as the members will also feel they are part of the projects.
Non-governmental organization should ensure a clear channel of communication between
the organization and other stakeholders which include members of the community.

49
Lastly capacity building should be factored in during and after the project as this will play
a huge influence on sustainability and also ensure that the members of the community can
run the projects on their own.

5.4 Suggestion for further studies

The researcher suggest more study be conducted in other informal settlement with
consideration of other indicators of community participation other than planning, labor,
communication and capacity building.
The researcher also suggest a further study on community participation and its influence
on sustainability with key emphasis being in rural areas for comparison purpose.

50
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Sparks, C. 2007. Globalization, development and the mass media, London, Sage
UNDP (1997) Report of Development Programme: Capacity development: Technical
Advisory Paper II. Management Development and Governance Division, UNDP:
Geneva.
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http://www.who.int/whr/2004/en/ on April 20th, 2016.
Woodard, M.D. 2007. “Voluntary Association Membership Among Black American and
the Post Civil Right Era.” Sociological Quarterly, 28: 285-300.
World Health Organization (2013) Guidelines for Planning Community Participation
Activities in Water Supply and Sanitation Projects, Geneva, Switzerland

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 APPENDICES
APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE
Instructions
Please complete this questionnaire as honestly and objectively as possible. Tick your
options in the appropriate box and fill in the blank spaces provided for questions where
elaborate answers are required. Please use the space at the back of this questionnaire if you
need more space for your responses. The responses you give will be treated with utmost
confidentiality.
1. Gender
Male ( ) Female ( )
2. Age
Below 24 years ( ) 25-29 Years ( ) 30-34 years ( )
35-39 Years ( ) 40-44 Years ( ) Over 44 Years ( )

3. Highest academic level:

Primary [ ] Secondary [ ] Tertiary [ ] Undergraduate [ ] Postgraduate [
]
Planning influences sustainability and development project
4. The following relate to planning of community projects. Please indicate your level
of agreement with the statements in relation to sustainability and development
project, using the scale: Strongly Agree (5); Agree (4); Neutral (3); Disagree (2)
and Strongly Disagree (1)
Planning influences sustainability and development project 1 2 3 4 5

The community participates in meetings for planning

The community’s ideas and contributions are incorporated in the design of the
projects
The community participates in coming up with the cost and budget for the
project
The community mobilizes resources (for example money, materials, labour,
land etc.) towards realization of the project

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 The community is involved in coming up with a plan for implementing project
The community is involved in coming up with a plan for measuring
performance and impact of the project (monitoring and evaluation plan).

Labour contributions influence community participation

5. The following relate to labor contributions of community projects. Please indicate
your level of agreement with the statements in relation to sustainability and
development project, using the scale: Strongly Agree (5); Agree (4); Neutral (3);
Disagree (2) and Strongly Disagree (1)
1 2 3 4 5
Labour contributions influence community participation
By increasing the ability of people, projects, and or communities to be self-
reliant, they are then able to contribute towards the sustainability of
development projects
Community people are invited to make contributions of labour and/or other
resources which is also seen as a form of cost-sharing
The community people participate in certain specific temporary tasks mainly
for the development of their community
Good governance provides public with democratic and equal opportunities to
participate
Most often community gives a voluntary service to the organization
Members are not paid for being members but are happy to be part of like-
minded people to perform social services

Communication influence community participation on sustainability

6. The following relate to communication of community projects. Please indicate your
level of agreement with the statements in relation to sustainability and development
project, using the scale: Strongly Agree (5); Agree (4); Neutral (3); Disagree (2)
and Strongly Disagree (1)

55
 1 2 3 4 5
Communication influence community participation on sustainability
Community participation in project improves coordination and collaboration
Community participation in project communication helps in engaging the
group individuals to perceive important issues
Communication is usually correct, consistent and relevant for the organization
communities
There is usually timely and frequent announcements of public meetings
through local channels
Communication practices play an important part in the exercise of community
project
The safeguarding of participation and citizens’ engagement in democracy is
possible through the existence and practice of public communication, which
comprises social mechanisms that facilitate debates and discussion of public
issues

Capacity building influence community participation

7. The following relate to capacity building of community projects. Please indicate
your level of agreement with the statements in relation to sustainability and
development project, using the scale: Strongly Agree (5); Agree (4); Neutral (3);
Disagree (2) and Strongly Disagree (1)
1 2 3 4 5
Capacity building influence community participation
Capacity building helps to strengthen the capacities of local communities at
the periphery through resource allocation
capacity building consists of developing knowledge, skills and operational
capacity so that community groups may achieve their project purposes
capacity can be achieved through empowering others and through efficient and
formalized processes

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 beneficiaries of participatory development are trained and enlightened on the
expectations of participatory development
Government has invested resources to build capacities of local communities to
plan and monitor their own projects

Sustainability of projects
8. The following relate to capacity building of community projects. Please indicate
your level of agreement with the statements in relation to sustainability and
development project, using the scale: Strongly Agree (5); Agree (4); Neutral (3);
Disagree (2) and Strongly Disagree (1)
Sustainability of projects 1 2 3 4 5
There is availability of clean water and sanitation
services offered by the SHOFCO
Patients can easily access medical and clinical
services at the SHOFCO clinic facility.
There is increased number of beneficiary of the
livelihood sustainability program
The number of ECD facility have increased within
Mathare
The number of water kiosk and sanitation blocks
have increased in past five years.

Key informant interview guide

1. Does the organization involves community to participates in project planning
meetings
2. Do you consider ideas and contributions to be incorporated in the design of the
projects
3. Does the community mobilizes resources (for example money, materials, labour,
land etc.) towards realization of the project
If yes explain.

57
 4. How do you describe the Communication channel between the community and the
organization?
5. Is there usually timely and frequent announcements of public meetings through
local channels
If yes what are some of the means of communication.
6. Do you believe Communication practices play an important part in the exercise of
community project
If yes explain
7. has the government invested resources to build capacities of local communities to
plan and monitor their own projects
8. Provide ways in which government agencies have been involved
9. Based on your previous project, how do you ensure the beneficiaries of the project
can sustain the project?

APPENDIX II: INTRODUCTION LETTER

M.Abdi Osman
P. O. Box 24579-01000
Nairobi, Kenya

The University of Nairobi

Nairobi, Kenya

Dear Respondent,

58
Re: Data Collection for My Research
I am a student at Nairobi University, pursuing Master’s Degree of Master of Arts in project
management. Conducting a study on the influence of community participation on
sustainability of development projects by non-governmental organizations in Mathare
slums and would very much want you to take part in the study. Please answer the following
questions honestly and objectively to the best of your knowledge, the information obtained
will be treated with confidentiality. Please do not write your name on the questionnaire.
Thank you for your acceptance and support.

Yours faithfully

M.Abdi Osman

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APPENDIX III: RESEARCH PERMIT

60
APPENDIX IV: RESEARCH AUTHORIZATION

61