| dc.description.abstract | In most of Africa, savings rates are relatively low, around 17 percent of gross domestic product.
Kenya is no exception and in fact it saves less than many of its peers (around 13-14 percent of
GDP over the last five years). Women have limited access to economic resources including land,
credit, adequate training, support services and participate minimally in the decision making
process. They lack access to employment opportunities and earn less for equal work as compared
to men. The commonest form of saving by rural women is typically in the form of animals or
durable goods, in cash at their homes, or through Rotating Savings and Credit Associations
(ROSCAs/Chamas), which are commonly referred to as merry-go-rounds. This study was guided
by the following objectives; to establish how individual saving project activities influence the
level of education in women household, to determine how individual saving project activities
influence quality of food in women household, to examine how individual saving project
activities influence the level of income in women households and to assess how individual
saving project activities influence the health of women household. The researcher employed
cross sectional descriptive research design. Descriptive statics was used to analyze the data. The
study adopted simple random sampling and purposeful sampling and select groups of households
which are geographically close to one another, this aided in keeping costs to a manageable level.
Households formed the basic sampling unit (that is, the smallest unit to be sampled). The
researcher employed these sampling techniques because they enabled an in-depth knowledge of
the study using a small population sample from each of the selected respondents. The study
population constituted women groups involved in the individual saving project and their
households. The sample size was 100 households. In using Primary sources data was collected
from selected respondents using Focused Group Discussions, Key Informant Interview Guides,
Observation list and Household Questionnaires. Secondary sources included relevant documents
and reports. The researcher employed the technique to pick information that is available from
these reports. Qualitative data from FGD and KII was analyzed according to the emerging
themes and sub themes this was through selection of similar statements hence qualitative
findings were synchronized with quantitative findings. The Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) computer software was used for analysis of quantitative data. Presentation was
done in textual form and tables. The study findings established that women who joined the
individual saving project had acquired more assets after they started practicing the project
activities. The hypothesis were all strongly supported at 0.001 significance level, demonstrating
that level of education (p<0.006) which represented 60%, quality of food (p<0.005) which
represented 50%, level of income (p<0.006) which represented 60% and access to health
(p<0.003) which represented 30% have all been improved through the individual savings project
respectively. The researcher concluded that there was need for the individual savings project to
collaborate with other stakeholders and provide different skill based trainings, business oriented
information and counseling services. The researcher recommended that, the individual savings
project should be redesigned to include a (entrepreneurial) skills based approach to development. | en_US |
