Browsing by Author "Kimeto, Lilian Jerotich"

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    Integrating Participatory Communication into Slum Upgrading In Kibera: An Audit of the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme Communication Strategy
    (Daystar University, School of Communication & Languages, 2016-02) Kimeto, Lilian Jerotich
    This study sought to audit the Kenya Slum Upgrading Program (KENSUP) communication strategy. The study was guided by four objectives: to find out how the principles of participatory communication were applied in implementing slum upgrading in Kibera, find out if the communication channels preferred by the residents of Kibera were used to communicate with them, to examine the role played by the Settlement Executive Committee in the design and implementation of the KENSUP communication strategy, and to investigate the challenges faced in integrating participatory communication methods into slum upgrading. The research adopted a descriptive research design which used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyse data. The data collection instruments were questionnaires (Quantitative), a focus group discussion and interviewing key informants (Qualitative). The key findings were that 68 % of the respondents felt their voice is not heard during decision making about the program, and this means empowerment participation has not been attained going by the typology of Tufte and Mefalopulos (2009). They add that to be genuinely participatory and truly effective, communication should occur among all parties affected, ensuring all have similar opportunities to influence the outcome of the initiative. Optimally, participatory communication would be part of the whole project process, from beginning to end (p.17). Another finding is that the government mostly used letters (77%) and posters 53%, which are monologic, vertical and top-down to communicate with the community. Although 82% of respondents indicated they had been to seminars, the qualitative data obtained from the FGD indicated that the seminars were not dialogic. When asked how they prefer communicate to them about KENSUP , 90% of respondents preferred that the government use face to face (interpersonal) methods and 68% of respondents preferred the use of the social groups and networks (group communication) that exist within the community. Another finding was that 68% of the respondents felt the SEC was no longer effective in carrying out the participatory communication role it was supposed to strengthen as per the communication strategy designed in 2005. The inference of that finding is a possibly dysfunctional SEC yet it was supposed to be the focal point of participatory communication within the program and that this is the point where the ineffectiveness of participatory communication principles as intended in the communication strategy was. Lastly, 34 % of the respondents faulted the government for failing to integrate participatory communication into the program with 22 % of the respondents blaming the community and 19% blaming both government and community for failure to integrate participatory communication into the slum upgrading program. In conclusion, the ineffectiveness of the communication strategy occurred both at the design and implementation stages of the communication strategy. Findings revealed that at the design stage of the communication strategy, the KRS community was consulted (96 %). However, 80 % of the respondents pointed out that when the document came out, their views had not been incorporated. This study inferred that the government consulted the community for the sake of it and then went ahead to produce its version of the document which the community disowned. At the implementation stage, during relocation (implementation stage) findings revealed that the community felt engaged (91%). However, as at the time of the study, only 26% of the respondents said they were still engaged in participatory communication activities being carried out by KENSUP. During the Literature review, this study looked at various models applied in the design and implementation communications and concluded that the KENSUP communication strategy did not adhere to any of those models which have been tested scientifically. Particularly at the design stage, the government had not done a communications needs assessment. Even when it called the community into a consultative meeting, it ignored some of the views from the slum residents that would have defined the communication objectives, and informed the constructing and dissemination of messages about slum upgrading as an innovation. The study concluded that the KENSUP communication strategy had not achieved its objectives, and neither had it effectively applied participatory communication to facilitate the realization of the KENSUP programmatic outcomes. The study recommended another study on the use of informal participatory communication channels (social groups) in Kibera to facilitate participation in the slum upgrading program.