Factors influencing improvement of livelihood of slum dwellers by projects funded by non-governmental organizations: the case of Kibera slum in Nairobi county, Kenya

This research set out to ask the following questions: What is the influence of management factors \non improvement of livelihood of slum dwellers by projects funded by Non-Governmental \nOrganizations in Kibera slum Nairobi County, Kenya? How does aid expenditure influence the \nimprovement of livelihood of slum dwellers by projects funded by Non-Governmental \nOrganizations in Kibera slum Nairobi County, Kenya? How does accountability influence the \nimprovement of livelihood of slum dwellers by projects funded by Non-Governmental \nOrganizations in Kibera slum Nairobi County, Kenya? How does monitoring and evaluation \ninfluence the improvement of livelihood of slum dwellers by projects funded by NonGovernmental \nOrganizations in Kibera slum Nairobi County, Kenya? The study adopted a \ndescriptive survey research design. The targeted population was 70,938 and 700 project managers \nand the eventual sample size was 382 heads of households in Kibera slum and 70 project \nmanagers. A combination of stratified and systematic random sampling techniques was employed \nto select a sample of 382 heads of households and 70 project managers; from 35 successful NGO \nfunded projects and 35 stalled NGO funded projects. The study used both primary and secondary \ndata. Primary data was collected with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. Data was \nanalyzed by the use of descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency (mean, mode \nand median) and frequencies. Data was presented using frequency and percentage tables. The \nstudy found out that majority of the respondents in Kibera slum had primary education which is \nconsidered a factor influencing NGO funded project success. The findings indicate that donor \naided projects created self-sufficiency through livelihood projects among the slum dwellers. The \nfindings have shown that donor funded projects have primarily focused on service provision \naspects of the livelihood of the slum dwellers. The study recommends that management and \ncommunication are among the critical factors in the success of donor funded projects. Stakeholder \ninvolvement has a great influence on projects and it is nearly impossible to achieve project \noutcomes without involving stakeholders in the project processes. The study recommends that \nthere is a need for greater accountability and regulation of donor funded projects operating in \nKibera slum. More funding should also be awarded to projects to engage more critical expertise \nin order to make easy to address project issues and processes. It is important that the \nimplementers of these projects/programs have skills of management, accountability, monitoring \nand evaluation. Further research is needed on how to help improve community participation in \ndonor funded projects. Future research studies should therefore be undertaken to incorporate a \nlarger number of respondents and project managers in the study.