The contribution of community based organisations to child development: a study of Kayunga and Kanjuki Child Development Projects
Abstract
Description
Community Based Organisations contributed to child development through provision of medical care, food, education materials, clothing, and shelter and in several other ways. Despite all their efforts, proper child development had not yet been realised. Over dependence of caregivers and children had increased, some children had dropped out of school and project and the number of needy children in the community had not reduced. The major objective, therefore, was to assess the contribution of Kayunga and Kanjuki child development centers to child development, children's households and the surrounding communities. The research methodology used case study research design of two CBOs. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to get a wider understanding of the problem. Random sampling was used in selecting caregiver respondents, by placing numbers in a container and the subjects picked a number at random. Those who picked were included in the population. Purposive sampling method was also used to select the children respondents who were handpicked intentionally, they were informative, and this was one of the advantages of this method. An age category of children with nine (9) years and above was considered. Data collection was done by administering structured questionnaires, interview guides, key informant interviews, focused group discussions, observation and note taking. Document review was also done. Data processing employed use of summaries, a coding framework, manual counting, tally system as well as tabulation of received data. The findings showed that both CBOs had contributed positively to the development of the children in several ways. The major finding was that CBOs contribution was the children’s inheritance in life. Therefore, child development programmes are agents of transforming children into better members of their communities. The role of Ethics in providing guidance and emphasising Ethical principles like equality, responsibility, integrity and others were to be emphasised. It was recommended strongly that children had a right to participate in all stages and activities of their own development.
Keywords
Child development, Child development