BC-Department of Sociology

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    Death, Grief and Culture in Kenya: Experiential Strengths-Based Research
    (Springer International Publishing, 2015) Njue, J.R.M.; Rombo, D.; Lutomia, A.N.; Smart, L.S.; Mwaniki, L.M.; Sore, I.L.
    The purpose of this chapter is to examine how families deal with bereavement in Kenya. Our discussion is based on the constructivist assumption that bereaved individuals and families construct the meaning of the death of a loved one, shaped by the cultural context but not determined by it. The colonial experience disrupted and reshaped the traditions and belief systems of the numerous ethnic groups in Kenya. We provide an overview of traditional religion and spirituality in three Kenyan ethnic groups (Luo, Luhya, and Embu), give an overview of Kenyan family structure, and then provide a brief case study of a bereavement experience in each of the three tribes. We apply the family strengths perspective to the case study material, illustrating family strengths with excerpts from the bereaved individuals whom we interviewed. Implications of our findings include that established cultural practices support family and community mourning, but that no rituals are in place to support individual mourning, giving little room for grieving at the individual level. Professionals who work outside of their own culture, particularly internationally, will be effective only to the extent that they have cultural awareness and the ability to make sensitive interventions from a global perspective.
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    Determinants of Gender Mainstreaming in Community-Based Organizations: A Case of St. John’s Community Centre-Pumwani, Nairobi City County, Kenya.
    (Kenyatta University, 2024-01) Gitu, Joseph Njoroge
    Despite various measures and legislations seeking to empower women and promote gender equality, gender mainstreaming in the development programs at the local community level remains adamantly low. Therefore, this study sought to establish the determinants of gender mainstreaming at St. John’s Community Centre (SJCC) in Pumwani, Nairobi County. The specific objectives of the study were: to establish levels of participation by gender at SJCC, to establish factors influencing gender mainstreaming at SJCC, to examine the challenges faced in mainstreaming gender issues by SJCC and to examine strategies employed to enhance gender mainstreaming at SJCC. This study was grounded on Caroline Moser’s Gender Analytical Framework. The study utilized a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised of 5 SJCC managers, 60 staff members, 100 SJCC volunteers, and 560 project beneficiaries. A sample of 221 participants constituting 30% of the respondents was selected using stratified random sampling. The sample included: 18 staff members, 30 volunteers, and 168 project beneficiaries. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify the managers as key informants. Questionnaires were used to collect data from SJCC staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries while interviews were administered to the SJCC managers. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyse quantitative data and generate descriptive statistics. Thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes and patterns in qualitative data based on research objectives. The findings revealed that there is equality in participation by gender in St. Johns Community Centre: Men and women are represented among the staff and management of SJCC: 58% of the staff members are female and 42% are male; women at SJCC occupy 57% of the managerial posts compared to men who occupy 43% of the managerial staff; men and women equally occupy positions of leadership and decision making as women hold 55% of the positions while men occupy 45% of the positions across the different cadres of employment. Further, the findings established that SJCC accorded beneficiaries equal access to education opportunities as male constituted 48.8% beneficiaries of the scholarship and training programme while females constituted 51.1%. Moreover, study findings indicated that gender mainstreaming at SJCC is determined by the human resource policy which prohibits any form of discrimination based on gender, principles and values that promote participation of men and women in development as equal partners, equality in occupation of decision making between men and women and women leadership in projects that address the triple role of women. SJCC gender mainstreaming strategies include implementation of exclusive women programmes that address women practical and strategic gender needs, anti-poverty strategies that enhance women’s economic independence, programmes that facilitate equality in access to education by both genders, training of SJCC staff on gender mainstreaming and awareness creation on gender equality in the community. However, attainment of gender equality is limited by lack of a tracking system for gender in the SJCC budgeting, reluctance of men to participate in VSLAs projects, unequal power relations between men and women and high poverty levels. Therefore, this study recommends that St. John Community Centre enacts a gender mainstreaming policy to provide a legal framework for gender mainstreaming, strengthen projects that transform power imbalance between men and women, intensify gender equality awareness programmes and SJCC staff training to incorporate gender responsiveness budgeting.
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    Evolution of Local Authorities in Kenya
    (the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research, 2010) Muia, D. M.; Ngugi, J.; Gikuhi, R.
    Local government system is more or less a universal phenomenon of public administration throughout the world. The term local government is usually used to bring out the graphic contrast between the local level system of government and the central or national level government. The central government could be a unitary government or a federated government. Equally in many cases, the terms local government (LG) and local authorities (LAs) are used interchangeably. While increasingly local governments exercise powers more or less at the same level as national government as calls for enhanced autonomy become the norm, the normal practice has hitherto been one of local authorities exercising delegated mandate, often through a constitutional arrangements and/or a legislated process. Nevertheless the question of local government autonomy continues to be a subject of concern as the questions of democratic and participatory governance assume a prime place in governance discourse. As systems for devolved administration, local governments are increasingly being seen as viable vehicles through which people can participate in their own governance since these units are closer to them as compared to central governments.