Stakeholders’ Involvement and Implementation of Child Protection Programs by Charitable Organizations in Kenya: a Case of Five Compassion International’s Projects in Marsabit County

Abstract

Child protection has become one of the key activities by many charitable organizations especially those that are focused on child development. This is because of the growing need of protecting and safeguarding children globally from all forms of abuse which they are exposed to in a disheartening way. Many of such organizations initiate and run child protection programs whose main duties are to ensure children live happy, fulfilled and productive lives as equal development partners as adults. For these programs to be very effective in achieving this goal, there is need for active involvement of all relevant stakeholders from the beginning. This involvement ensures the stakeholders’ views are incorporated in decision making, planning, execution and monitoring and evaluation which not only increases transparency and accountability but also enhances learning, ownership and sustainability. However, with all these benefits of stakeholders’ participation in the life of a project, it has not been highly emphasized and utilized in most programs and projects. Thus, this study focused on investigating how stakeholders’ involvement influence on implementation of child protection programs taking a case of five Compassion International’s Projects in Marsabit County. It sought to do this by establishing how stakeholders’ involvement in child protection programs’ identification, planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation affect their implementation. A descriptive survey design was employed. The study’s population was 1422 primary caregivers and 35 members of the Accountability Structure Management Committees from the five Compassion Projects located in Saku Constituency, Marsabit County. A sample of 142 primary caregivers was used which represented 10% of the total population and the stratified random sampling technique as utilized in selecting them. Their responses were collected with the use of semi structured questionnaires. 20 members of the Accountability Structure Management Committee were used as key informants and were selected using purposive sampling technique and were interviewed. To test the validity and reliability of the research instruments, a pilot study was undertaken in a different project. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were utilized in data analysis. With the assistance of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 26), quantitative data was analyzed utilizing descriptive and inferential analysis approaches. Percentages and frequencies were included in the descriptive analysis. In addition, inferential statistics was engaged to analyze data using regression analysis and computation of Spearman’s coefficient correlation to show the relationship between stakeholders’ involvement on implementation of child protection programs in Saku Constituency in Marsabit County. A multiple regression model was then developed to conform with the equation: Y = β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + β3X3 + β4X4+ε using a 95% level of confidence.