Browsing by Author "Wambugu, Iddah Wangui"

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    Determinants of Urban Refugee Youths Self-Reliance, in Nairobi City County, Kenya
    (Journalof Public Policy & Governance, 2024-07) Wambugu, Iddah Wangui; Kipchumba, Heather Eddah
    In urban centers, humanitarian assistance to refugees can be sparse, and insufficient to foster self-reliance, which is shaped by social and economic factors. Thus, urban refugee youths exercise a higher degree of self-reliancethan those in camps. The study sought to establish the determinants of urban refugee youths self-reliance in Nairobi City County, Kenya.The study targeted 2972 refugee youths butsampled 297. It draws on data from questionnaires andanalyzed questions using contentanalysisand descriptive and inferential statistics.Most refugee youths, 80%, said theyreceived support from their social networks, with 74.2% valuing and 5.8% not valuing self-reliance. Self-reliance increased where they depended on these networks for housing, work, and emotional support, butwas absent where social capital was unavailable.The correlation (r = 0.30, p = 0.00) and regression (β = 0.726, p = 0.00) results revealed that social networks significantly influenced self-reliance.On financial training, 63.3% of the refugee youth indicated having participated in financial training, with 43.5% valuing and 19.8% not valuing self-reliance. Financial training increased self-reliance by helping them to save, pay back loans, or borrow to invest, but hindered it by increasing over-dependence on credit.The correlation (r = 0.738, p = 0.00) and regression (β = 1.871, p = 0.00) results also indicated that financial training significantly influenced self-reliance. On education training, 77.6% of the refugee youthsstated having participated in education training, with 54.5 % valuing and 23.1% not valuing self-reliance. Education and Training enhanced their self-through increased employabilityand pathways to decent work through wage or self-employment. At the same time, some refugee youths lamented they were still unemployed after completing TVET. The correlation (r = 0.151, p = 0.020) and regression (β = 0.1512, p = 0.00) results also indicated that education significantly influenced self-reliance.Regarding legal support, 64.3% of the refugee youths reported having sought legal representation, with 51.6 % valuing and 12.7% not valuing self-reliance. Legal support enhanced the refugee youth self-reliance by facilitating their access to business permits, and pro-bono lawyers’services. Legal support failed tofoster self-reliance where the refugees lacked awareness of their economic, social,and education rights. The correlation (r = 0.260, p = 0.020) and regression (β = 1.497, p = 0.002) results also revealedthat legal support significantly influenced self-reliance.The study proposes that humanitarian actors offer selected skilled refugee youths financial start-up capital for micro-enterprises as well as conduct business incubation and follow-ups after financial training.The study also recommends that TVET designers and funders develop curricula that are responsive to market demands to be relevant and deliver skills that are useful in the local labor markets.
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    Development Cooperation for Refugees and Its Effect on the Self-Reliance of Urban Refugee Youth in Nairobi City County
    (Kenyatta University, 2024-11) Wambugu, Iddah Wangui
    Conventional forms of humanitarian aid have a limited impact on shaping refugees' independence in protracted situations. Instead, development cooperation to bolster refugees' self-reliance becomes more critical. However, fostering their self-reliance through cooperation can make it difficult since its implementation reduces the refugee's dependency on aid, which can threaten their livelihoods. Thus, the study aimed to establish how development cooperation influences the urban youth refugee's self-reliance in Nairobi City County. The objectives included determining the effect of financial literacy, social networks, human and physical capital, and legal support on self reliance. The theories of Change and Maslows Hierarchy of Needs underpinned the study. The target population consisted of 36,450 urban youth refugees but sampled a population of 276. The study adopted questionnaires that were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression and presented using means and standard deviation via tables. Still, open-ended questions were analyzed using significant themes. Descriptive results indicated that financial literacy enabled most urban youth refugees to access credit, repay loans on time, borrow money for investing, and save for the future. Social networks enabled the youth refugees to borrow money from someone they knew outside the community and participate in communal activities, thus enhancing their sense of belonging and connection to other community members. Human and physical capital through vocational training enabled the refugees to gain self-employment, credential recognition, and receive primary healthcare training that allowed them to manage their healthcare needs. Legal support enabled the refugees to be aware and exercise most of their economic, social, and educational rights. Regression results indicated that all the development cooperation variables (financial literacy, social networks, human and physical capital, and legal support) positively and significantly influenced the urban youth refugees' self-reliance. That implies that financial literacy, social networks, human and physical capital, and legal support provided by donors resulted in better refugees' self-reliance. Recommendations for donor organizations include initiating social and cultural activities between the youth refugees and the host locals and looking at how refugees engage in the savings cycle and how that builds resilience. Policymakers are advised to enact laws that provide refugees the right to work and access to higher education, creating equal opportunities for refugees to develop their desired lives.