Factors influencing the implementation of community development projects in Burundi a case study of African revival ministries (arm

Abstract

The study was designed to find out the factors that affect the implementation of community development programs in Burundi. The study conducted a case study of African Revival Ministries (ARM) an Non-Governmental Organization which conducts various community development programs in Burundi. The study was guided by research questions which formed the basis of literature review that the study concentrated on. The literature review focused on the factors that the research - considered to affect the implementation of development programs. The study reviewed the concept of community development, the role of community participation in implementation of community programs, the effect of Government legislation and policies, the effects of donor support and funding on the implementation, the effects of staff capacity and training as well as the effects of community attitude on the implementation of the these community development programs. The study adopted a conceptual framework. On research design, the study followed a descriptive design which obtained information concerning the current status of the phenomena with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The target population of the study was 90, the employees of African Revival Ministries (ARM) stratified according to the levels in the NGO and community leaders. The study sampled 50% of the population using stratified sampling giving all the employees an equal chance of being a member of the sample. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was collected using questionnaires with mostly closed ended questions which enabled the researcher to probe the factors that affect the implementation of the programs. Data collection was conducted only after permissions and authority from relevant authorities had been given while the collected data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The analysis was done using Microsoft Excel. The analysed data was presented using pie charts, percentages, frequency tables and bar graphs. The study identified that the factors studied indeed affected the implementation of community projects. Government policies and regulations, community culture and attitude, donor support and funding and staff training and capacity improvement played a critical role in the implementation of community projects by ARM.