Department of Humanities

EFFECTS OF CULTURAL PRACTICES ON REFUGEE STUDENTS’ ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION IN KAKUMA CAMP AND KALOBEYEI INTEGRATED SETTLEMENT IN KENYA

2024-10-18T00:00:00Z

EFFECTS OF CULTURAL PRACTICES ON REFUGEE STUDENTS’ ACCESS TO SECONDARY EDUCATION IN KAKUMA CAMP AND KALOBEYEI INTEGRATED SETTLEMENT IN KENYA Ekitoe, Paul,Sarah,PeterLikoko,Akwee Ensuring that refugees in camps receive a high-quality education is essential to ensuring both social and economic growth in the host nations after repatriation and resettlement. There have long been barriers to student enrollment at the Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement, despite tenacious efforts by state and non-state actors at the international and national levels as well as stakeholders like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, among others. Several refugee students at Kakuma Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement do not enroll in secondary education. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of cultural practices on refugee students’ access to secondary education. To identify the barriers preventing refugee students in Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement from accessing secondary school, the research used an ex post facto design. The study was guided by the social justice theory which emphasizes the necessity of addressing systemic injustices and empowering marginalized groups in educational contexts. Nine (9) principals and 180 teachers from nine (9) refugee schools were the target population. The study employed census sampling to determine a sample size of 189, which were made up of 9 principals and 180 teachers. Questionnaires and an interview schedule were used to gather data. The validity and reliability of the tools were established through a pilot study that employed the test-retest methodology. A regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The study established that the cultural practices have statistically significant effects on refugee students’ access to secondary education in Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement.

TECHNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND ADOPTION OF CROSS-NETWORK MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE BY SMES IN MURANG'A MUNICIPALITY

2020-08-01T00:00:00Z

TECHNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND ADOPTION OF CROSS-NETWORK MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE BY SMES IN MURANG'A MUNICIPALITY Mobile service operators in Kenya rolled out cross-network mobile money transfer services in the year 2018 intending to increase the penetration of mobile financial services in the country due to reduced costs and increased financial flexibility. The operators anticipated it to be of great benefit to Small business traders owing to the recent increase in the number of participants who utilize mobile money transfer facilities in their routine business functions, processes, and activities. However, the uptake of the service has remained low as MPesa continues to dominate the mobile money market where its share stands at 81.6% as of 30th September 2018. The objective of this study, therefore, was to assess technological characteristics influencing the adoption decisions of cross-network mobile money transfer service by SME traders in Murang’a municipality using descriptive survey design. Primary data was obtained through questionnaires from a sample size of 250 participants using purposeful sampling design. The analysis of data was done to obtain useful information for communication by using descriptive statistics. The results found out that the adoption rate of cross-network mobile money transfer service was very low as only 36 % of the respondents had adopted the service at the time of the survey. The rest of the respondents (64%) had not adopted the service due to unawareness, lack of agent interoperability, loyalty and exclusive trust in M-Pesa, network challenges, and limited access by customers to other mobile operator’s retail outlets. All the respondents agreed that technological characteristics influenced their decision to adopt the service. The study also established that the adoption of cross-network mobile money transfer service had escalated the performance of the businesses as revealed by a majority of respondents (71%). The study recommends that SMEs traders adopt cross-network mobile money transfer because of its positive impact on business performance. To increase the rate of adoption of the service, the study recommends that policymakers introduce interoperability at the agent level and conduct aggressive marketing to attract more customers. To increase financial inclusivity in the country the study recommends that the service providers raise transaction limits of mobile money to attract more users in Kenya. There is also a need to review transaction costs downwards

SUSTAINABILITY OF LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES OF RIPARIAN COMMUNITIES IN MURANG’A COUNTY, KENYA.

2021-06-17T00:00:00Z

SUSTAINABILITY OF LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES OF RIPARIAN COMMUNITIES IN MURANG’A COUNTY, KENYA. Isaiah Ochieng Abillah, Benson Mwangi, Richard Juma ,Clifford G. Machogu Getaro Wetlands have played a key role in support of the riparian community’s livelihoods and development and have been the source of forest, wildlife, minerals, agriculture, recreation, water and energy. Murang’a County in Kenya, is endowed with many such wetlands that provide water to nearby towns of Thika and Nairobi city. Despite these important roles, wetlands conservation and management in the county continue to attract little attention from scientists and policy makers. This study aims at investigating the livelihood strategies of riparian communities in Murang’a County, Kenya. This study aimed at investigating how sustainable the livelihoods strategies are of the riparian communities are in Murang’a County. The study was conducted in four purposively selected sub-counties, due to their richness in wetlands: Kiharu, Kangema, Mathioya, and Maragua. Data was collected using household’s survey questionnaires, key informant interviews, and focus group discussion. Questionnaire were administered to a randomly selected sample of 404 respondents from the riparian community in the four sub-counties. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 26.0. Chi-squared test was used to test for association between livelihood strategies and effects of encroachment into wetlands. Rejection value for statistical tests was set at P< 0.05. Results showed an encroachment rate into the wetlands by the riparian communities of 60.4%. It is concluded that livelihood strategies of riparian communities were not sustainable due to a high rate of encroachment, inadequate enforcement of laws and policies, On the other hand, over exploitation of wetlands resources, lack of knowledge on wise use of wetlands and conflict of interest among different environmental conservation institutions among other factors, were impacting negatively on wetlands conservation in Murang’a County. The study recommends enhanced sustainability of livelihood strategies of riparian communities through empowerment, capacity building and well-coordinated livelihood strategies by all stakeholders in wetlands management that will lead to the wise use of wetlands ecosystems in Kenya and in other parts of the world.

AN ASSESSMENT OF SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING RURAL YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN TURKANA COUNTY – KENYA

2021-01-01T00:00:00Z

AN ASSESSMENT OF SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING RURAL YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN TURKANA COUNTY – KENYA Otieno, Evans,Ochieng' The interplay of local and international cultures enhances people's ability to adapt to external influences of sustainable action that can support sustainable global development programs and processes. Traditionally Turkana society has well-defined gender roles that appear to contradict inclusive and participatory approaches determined by government projects and interventions. Furthermore young people are looking for more economic opportunities and more property rights; however their participation in community development projects remains low compared to that of older people. The study sought to assess the influence of cultural values on youth participation in community development projects. Data were collected from a sample of 381 respondents using descriptive design research methods. The study revealed that gender roles and hierarchical interpersonal relationships in the local community is a major impediment towards community participation in development projects. The author recommends that the central role of youth in participatory planning should be promoted through creation of enabling environments that would adopt a holistic approach in addressing the political and sociocultural needs of the youth.