dc.description.abstract | Youth need a chance to develop their various communities through participation in decision
making on projects that can bring about the beautification of their community without
depending on the government. This study examined the factors that influence participation of
youth in decision making in community projects in the Wajir East district, Wajir County. The
study was guided by the objectives of finding out the influence of gender on participation of
youth in decision making in community projects, investigating the influence of cultural
factors on participation of youth in decision making in community projects, finding out the
influence of educational level on participation of youth in decision making in community
projects and investigating on the influence of government policies on participation of youth
in decision making in community projects in Wajir East district, Wajir County. This study
adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target population of this study comprised
of 24, 066 youth, aged between 18-35 years in Wajir East district, Wajir County. This study
used simple random sampling to select 380 youths from the total youth in Wajir East district,
Wajir County. The primary research instrument used in the study was a questionnaire and an
interview guide was used also for specific leaders. The sample data from the survey was
subjected to descriptive statistical data analysis methods –SPSS and presented in form of
tables. The data was interpreted in form of descriptions, frequencies and percentages. The
findings and the conclusion of the study were that youth were mostly ignored in decision
making in community projects in the area of study due to the influence of unfavourable
government policies, low levels of education, cultural practices as well as gender imbalances.
This study recommended that youth participation should be valued in Wajir County and
Kenya at large to ensure that all citizens take part in development activities, government
policies should be formulated which create room for every person to participate in spite of the
differences in academic qualifications as well as gender, and that gender and culture should
be overlooked in the current world so that every person can participate fully in decision
making on community projects for more success. | en_US |