Factors Affecting Youth Participation in Community Development Projectsi n Koibatek Sub Ccounty, Baringo County -Kenya

Abstract

Youth participation in programs that concern them and in the general community and national development programs is a weighty matter for many governments and change agencies. This is because, if any development program is to be sustainable, all groups in the society should be included. Youth participation can be seen to be varied. It is sometimes quite effective but mostly tokenistic and often there is no youth participation at all. The general objective of this study was to explore the factors affecting youth participation in community development projects in Koibatek Sub-County. The specific objectives were to determine the effect of community culture on youth participation in community development projects in Koibatek Sub County, to analyse the effects of economic factors on youth participation in community development projects in Koibatek Sub-County, and to evaluate the effects of youth‟s level of education on youth participation in community development projects in Koibatek Sub-County. The study was conducted in three wards in the Sub-County namely Lembus ward, Ravine ward and Mumberes Maji Mazuri ward. It was anchored on the citizen‟s ladder of Participation by Sherry Arnstein. The theory ranks participation in form of rungs on a ladder from low levels that are often tokenistic to higher levels where the citizens are empowered and are able to participate in decision making in programs that affect them. The study adopted a descriptive research design and multi stage sampling technique. To obtain the sample size required in each ward, the researcher used the normal approximation to binomial approximation formula by Kothari (2007). This is because this approximation is very precise when the population is large and the sample size is small. The target population was 36,846 youth and a sample size of 138 youth was obtained from sampling from the Nyumba-Kumi clusters in the Sub-County. In order to obtain the 138 youth respondents, the researcher used simple random sampling where a household was randomly selected to represent one youth. The data collection tool used was a questionnaire administered to youth respondents. In order to check for validity of the tool, a pilot test was conducted in Marigat Sub-County, Baringo. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16) and results presented using bar charts, pie charts and frequency tables. The open ended questions were analysed qualitatively. The key findings of this study were that culture, economic factors and youth‟s level of education do affect youth participation in community development projects in Koibatek sub-County. The study is significant to policy makers and development agencies both at the national and county levels and will complement the existing information in this matter of youth participation in community development.