AN EVALUATION STUDY ON THE SUCCESS OF NEEMA MICRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN REDUCTION OF POVERTY

Abstract

World Vision has projects aimed at improving the socio-economic well being to alleviate poverty. The project started in 1994 with over 18 groups presently. Many individuals have benefited from the credit programme since the inception. Therefore the study is an evaluation of the socio-economic benefits that have occurred to the target beneficiaries. The project to be studied is Neema Project. This project was selected because it was the first to be intiated in 1989. Under normal circumstances certain changes are normally expected during proj ect implementation. However World Vision Kenya has not carried out an evaluation since the inception of the project in 1994 to ascertain whether the beneficiaries standards of living have improved. Therefore there is need to carry out an evaluation. Achieving the goal of the evaluation various methods of data collection have to be employed. Information will be gathered through administering a questionnaire personally (interviewing) The researcher will use descriptive survey research design. The sample population to be studied will constitute a census of the individual beneficiaries of credit from Neema Project whom a baseline first survey was conducted on before inception of project. They are 72 in number. Primary data will be collected consisting information on profits, assets, sales, employment, education, nutrition, housing to the beneficiaries. The questionnaire will be pilot tested among 10% of the sampled population.

Data will be tabulated using comparative analysis of the variables before and after inception of the proj ect. The findings will be recorded in averages and percentages. The study is built on the premise that due to lack of credit for expansion to small scale enterprise operators many Non Governmental Organizations have come into remedy the situation. It is hoped that results of this study will help World Vision Kenya and other Non Governmental Organization get feedback on the benefits that here occurred on the beneficiaries.