Impact of athletics on youth empowerment: a study of Iten town, Elgeiyo Marakwet county, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya is a great sporting nation. The name Kenya has become an epitome for athletic prowess thanks to it‟s the youthful and strong athletes. At many recent and past athletic Olympic and international athletic activities, the sight of Kenyan winning such events has become a norm. From such success in international athletic activities and producing world champions coupled by high rates of unemployment among the Kenyan youth, many young people are now attempting to participate in athletics as an avenue to empower themselves and be part of success in this arena. This study endeavored to explore this Kenyan asset through an analysis on the impact of athletics on youth empowerment in Iten town. Iten Town, a small town in the Elgeiyo Marakwet County has recently become a hub for residential and training for both local and international athletes. Therefore, this research sought to explore the impact of athletics on youth empowerment in Iten town. The study was anchored on the following objectives: to determine the extent to which youth participate in athletics, to establish the influence of athletics on the life of the youth, to explore incidences of youth empowerment as a results of athletics and to explore the role of government in promoting athletics for youth empowerment. The study theoretical framework was anchored on the community empowerment theory and the variables for the study were the impact of athletics as the independent variable while youth empowerment was the dependable variable. The research designed used was a descriptive survey design involving the use of semi structured questionnaires and interviews of key informants. A sample of 100 respondents was obtained through stratified sampling technique, including a sample of ten key informants who were purposively selected through purposive sampling. Data analysis was done by use of descriptive statistics analysis. Data was analyzed through qualitative and quantitative approaches so as to gather as much information as possible. The results of the study showed that athletics had a positive impact on youth empowerment. Results of the study further showed that through athletics the youth were economically empowered and that the impact of athletics not only influenced the youth but also the community at large had benefited as a result of athletics. The findings showed that although the government offered training facilities to empower the youth through athletics, more efforts and facilities that are essential was needed to further empower the youth . The study recommends that the government should regularly provide training facilities to the youth in the area through availing enough manpower and infrastructure to facilitate more youth in engaging in athletics as a mean to empower themselves.