5.1 Conclusions
The study sought to establish the socio-economic implications of mixed-sex, women-only and men-only self-help groups in Kakamega District. The study found out that the coexistence of men and women was a very important aspect in development. The roles of men and women are equally important in development process because each of them cannot perform the role of the other perfectly but combined efforts produce better results. Thus, mixed-sex groups were significantly different from women-only groups in terms of activity, skills, group size, sustainability, incomes, commitment, etc. Although each group on its own had both positive and negative influence, a mix of the groups was better off in service delivery.
5.2 Recommendations
It was found out that groups had insufficient or no training in leadership and management. There were no records kept to measure the group performance over time. Leadership wrangles were also persistent in groups. It is on this basis that the study recommends leadership training. The training should involve counselling and guidance, record keeping, proposal writing, decision making, problem management, project management, progress report writing, etc.
Commitment to the group can be encouraged by ensuring that groups are not used to benefit individual personalities. Members’ interests and goals should be promoted. Use of incentives can also help encourage commitment to the group. In case of special tasks requiring special skills, group members should be given the first priority to do the work for payment before contracting non members.
Financial problems are twofold: lack of the real funds and management of the funds. To develop trust in leaders, members should have access to books of accounts without restrictions so that they understand how money changes hands in group activities. Regarding funds, groups can raise money through proposal writing to funding NGOs, organizing fund-raising activities/harambees, participating in or encouraging viable projects (economic than social), and develop revolving funds without tangible security. NGOs should also be left to operate independently and work with the groups directly rather than the government acting as an intermediary. NGO and Government Officials should encourage extension services to groups and also make follow ups towards initiated projects to ensure their progress.
Culture plays an important role in determining who gets educated, which skills to gain, etc. Illiteracy leads to lack of understanding and also poor management. As Mading Deng (1994) notes, culture being central to conflict, it should also be central to conflict resolution and development. Thus, everybody should have access to knowledge and skills and resources to develop their capacities which are important and influential to the development of our country. Gender sensitization to ensure anti-development traditions and cultural beliefs is important.
There is need for improving rural transport to ensure accessibility throughout seasons and availability of means of transport. Transport and communications availability will open the region to investors and develop the region by opening a market for their products.
There is need for diversity in activity so that no group becomes grounded due to failure of one project. This should be accompanied by appropriate technology whereby available resources can be used with greater gains than expensive technology which groups cannot afford to sustain due to financial drawbacks.
Groups before settling on an activity should carry out a community needs assessment to ensure that the projects established attract the attention of the community and that they benefit the community at large.
