FACTORS INFLUENCING IMPLEMENTATION OF ORPHAN AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN PROJECTS IN IGEMBE NORTH SUB-COUNTY, MERU COUNTY, KENYA
Caroline Gakii Maore - Master of Arts in Project Planning and Management, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Prof. Harriet Kidombo - ODEL campus, University of Nairobi, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Project ideas have been suggested; some ideas so superior that if implemented through project work could positively change people’s lives. However, such ideas remain elusive due to the challenges of the actual implementation. Orphans and vulnerable children projects in Kenya are facing challenges of qualified project officers and lack of an extensive number of project administrators who have the applicable abilities required for project administration. The purpose of this study was to establish the factors influencing implementation of orphan and vulnerable children projects in Kenya. The study focused on Orphan and Vulnerable Children projects in Igembe North Sub-County, Meru County Kenya. The study mainly focused on the influence of effective planning, management skills, project characteristics and accountability on implementation of Orphan and Vulnerable Children Projects in Igembe North Sub-County, Meru County Kenya. The study was grounded on system theory, co-evolutionary theory and theory of change (TOC). The study adopted a cross-section research design. The target population for this study was 378 comprising of staff working with OVC project, community leaders and the beneficiaries. To obtain the desired sample size of 190 for the study Nassiuma formula was used. The study selected the respondents using stratified random sampling technique. Primary data was obtained using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire was made up of both open ended and closed ended questions. The drop and pick method was preferred for questionnaire administration so as to give respondents enough time to give well thought out responses. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 25.0). All the questionnaires received were referenced and items in the questionnaire were coded to facilitate data entry. After data cleaning which entailed checking for errors in entry, descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean score and standard deviation were estimated for all the quantitative variables. Inferential data analysis was done using multiple regression analysis. Information was presented inform of tables. The study found that staff motivation and leadership influenced the implementation of OVC funded projects in Kenya to a very great extent. The study also found that fast deployment and ease of staffing influenced the implementation of OVC funded projects in Kenya to a very great extent. The study found that accountability had a strong and positive significance on the implementation of OVC funded projects in Kenya. The study further found that project characteristics has a positive significance on the implementation of OVC funded projects in Kenya. The study concluded that project characteristics had the greatest influence on the implementation of orphans and vulnerable children funded projects in Kenya, followed by effective planning, then accountability while management skills had the least effect on the implementation of orphans and vulnerable children funded projects in Kenya. The study recommended that management team should be trained on leadership styles and also the study recommended that there should exist capacity building on monitoring and evaluations guidelines with more emphasis on reporting and participatory M&E. The study finally recommends that the community should be sensitized to be heavily involved in in these projects. This can be done through including them as the stakeholders of the projects as well as allowing them to contribute to the projects hence improve performance of the projects. The study recommends further studies to be done on other counties as this study was only limited to Meru County alone. Further study be done on factors influencing performance of OVC projects. There is also need for further studies to be done on other types of projects such as health and community-based projects.
