Community Empowerment Strategies and poverty Reduction: a Case Study of Local protestant Churches in Kibra Slum, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Urban poverty is on the increase due to rapid urbanization experienced worldwide. World cities are bound to increase by almost 90% in 2030 and due to this, one billion people around the world currently live in slums or informal settlements. This growth has been experienced in Kenya with towns attaining city status as others grow due to the devolution of government services. In Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, urban poverty is evident in its over 200 slums that host 60% of the city’s population. Amidst the realities of urban poverty is the presence of local churches within slum communities offering holistic programmes among the urban poor. This study therefore assessed the relationship between community empowerment and poverty reduction within programmes implemented by local protestant churches in the slum of Kibra, Nairobi, Kenya. The specific objectives were assessing the efficacy of beneficiary participation; effectiveness of local leadership; efficacy of local organizational capacity; and the relationship of both community capacity building and resource mobilization alongside poverty reduction efforts of local church programmes in the slum. The study was guided by the capability approach theory, the neighbourhood effect theory and its link to urban poverty, the community empowerment theory, and the holistic development theory. A mixed research design that incorporated both qualitative and quantitative research methods was used to gather data. Research respondents comprised of church leaders and residents of Kibra slum in Nairobi County Kenya. Through systematic random sampling, a sample size of 464 Kibra residents from four administrative wards in the slum, 22 village leaders, and 9 church leaders were identified to participate in the study. Qualitative data was collected through an open-end questionnaire, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews and processed through thematic concepts, for presentation through texts and stories. The quantitative data was collected through closed-end questionnaires, processed and analysed through tables, frequencies, percentages, t-test, chi-square and multiple regression. A multidimensional poverty index using 16 poverty indicators was also developed and used to rate the poverty index of each respondent. The results were that 68.2% of the respondents were deprived in 33% of total deprivations namely; income; rent; cooking fuel; maintaining an active NHIF registration; toilet; and sewage facilities. Like in many other studies on poverty reduction programs, the church programs were no different. The poorest of the poor were left out. The poverty levels of church programme beneficiaries were not significantly different from those of non-beneficiaries. Unlike studies that have mentioned the participation of beneficiaries in the implementation of poverty reduction programmes, the findings of this study identified low level participation of beneficiaries which was not significant to reduced poverty levels while on the other hand, the involvement of local community leaders contributed towards poverty reduction. The research therefore recommends a community empowerment model that increases the involvement of community leaders in church poverty reduction programmes, enhances high beneficiary participation, reduces dependency by putting a stop to hand-outs, and resources community and church leaders to run holistic programmes targeting the poorest of the poor. Additionally, theological institutions should regularly review their curriculum to resource pastors and church leaders to respond to the growing realities of urban cities.