The Influence Of Projects In Empowering Grandmothers To Cope With The Effects Of Hiv/aids; The Case Of Grannie Project In Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

Grannies projects have for a long time existed in developed and developing countries since the discovery of deadly diseases and have been the only ways in which most of the services and care was channeled to the affected in the community since most grandmothers are easily trusted. The purpose of this study therefore was to find out the influence of projects in empowering grandmothers to cope with the effects of HIV/AIDS; the case of Grannie project in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives that sought to; examine the extent to which education influences the empowering of grandmothers in coping with the effects of HIV/AIDS in Kiambu County, assess the extent to which financial resources allocation role influences the empowering of grandmothers in coping with the effects of HIV/AIDS in Kiambu County, determine the extent to which culture change influences the empowering of grandmothers in coping with the effects of HIV/AIDS in Kiambu County, and, determine the extent to which the religious role influences the empowering of grandmothers in coping with the effects of HIV/AIDS in Kiambu County. The objectives also formed the themes in literature review. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study. In the study purposeful sampling was used in accordance to the characteristics the elements in the population possess. The research targeted employees of grannie projects and the direct beneficiaries of the operating grannie projects. The target population was about 1620 but a population sample of 95 was used. A pilot study was conducted to check the instruments reliability and validity. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire which was administered personally, via e-mails, enumerators and then collected after they have been filled. Data was coded and analyzed using the SPSS version 20.0. The data was analysed and the variables correlated to check the relationship of data. The hypothesis was tested using the simple chi-square tests to establish this relationship. In the study, 90 questionnaires were returned, fully filled and desirable for the study. This made a response rate of 94.7%. Female gender dominated the study maybe due to the nature of the topic of discussion. Female respondents made majority of the respondents at 70% while the male respondents who participated in the study made 30%. Over 60% of the respondents were for the idea that the Grannie project in Thika is working closely with relevant bodies to provide education to the affected grannies and other close people like grandchildren. Based on the responses in the field and the discussions from the literature reviewed, the grannies project in Thika has done a significant job in empowering the grandmothers. The project has for example come up with structured programmes of giving education to the grandmothers and their grandchildren. This is aimed at helping them understand the effect of HIV/AIDS besides getting knowledge on how they can survive. The researcher recommends that the grannie project idea should be allocated a particular curriculum from the MoE, department of adult education that is integrated with the contents adopted from the NACC so that the project can give its clients a very specific and relevant education so that their lives can be better than they are today. Also, the MoE in partnership with various bodies and NGOs should develop specific teachers to offer such education instead of using of volunteers. The study also recommends that the national government, county government and other stakeholders like USAID should come up with specific special budget that targets the grannies that are infected, affected and impacted by the HIV/AIDS virus. The researcher suggested that; a similar study could be carried out in the other counties and the whole County at large; a research can be done in the county to assess the challenges facing various grannies projects implementation in Kiambu county and the country at large, and finally, another study can be done to examine the various strategies adopted by the grannie projects in Kenya to ensure their sustainability.