| dc.description.abstract | In recent years, policy makers dealing with the development concerns of communities has began looking to churches, synagogues and mosques in initiating and implementing development activities that enhance community welfare. The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is one such institution with a devotion to serve the community through addressing development activities that can improve the living standards of the community. This study carried out a critical investigation on factors that influence performance of ACK Christian Community Services' Projects: A Case of ACK Uthiru Parish in Kenya. The scope of this research was based in Uthiru village in Kikuyu District, Kiambu County, in Central Province, Kenya.
The Christian Community Services (CCS) is a development arm in the Anglican Church of Kenya that is committed to building peoples' capacity to ensure that poverty has been eradicated and peoples' standards: socially and economically have been uplifted. CCS department is specifically tailored to look into the raising of community's life standards. Chapter One of this research discusses performance of CCS projects which was investigated under three objectives namely, Community participation, Church members' funding capabilities; and, the use of strategic planning by development practitioners.
The findings of this research will go a long way in assisting social development practitioners in decision making on community service projects. Chapter Two covers the Literature Review based on the independent variables of this study. These are: community participation, church members' funding capabilities; and, the use of strategic planning by development practitioners. It also contains the conceptual framework of this study. Chapter Three contains the Research Methodology of this study which has employed a survey design of a Case of ACK Uthiru Parish. Primary data was gathered using qualitative technique of a questionnaire and personal interview.
The questionnaire was open-ended and close-ended. The sampling frame of this research was ACK Uthiru Parish CCS Committee Members. The sample size was 40 respondents (20 members of CCS Committee, and 20 other members of the 7 subCCS Committee). This study used the purposive sampling technique. Data validity was tested through a 10% pretest of a pilot sample. Reliability was determined using the test-retest method. Data collected was analyzed using measures of central tendency of descriptive statistics and presented in tables in Chapter Four. This comprised of an analysis of the correlation between variables through correlation procedures. Chapter five comprises of the study recommendations, summary of findings and conclusions.
The study found out that there was a high community participation within the projects which was signified by the membership registration numbers of above 200. The majority of project financing was also done by church members signified by 67.5% of the respondents. The research was also able to establish that there was a high level of interaction between various stakeholders in the development of the parish strategic plan. The research also proposed that further studies should be carried out on different parishes in the diocese and with other denominations with varying types of involvement and participation in community development activities. The study recommends that Faith Based Organization should be continuously involved in evaluating their role in the community development agenda and also they should invest their participation in various funding approaches that may be available for them. | en_US |
