Influence of Knowledge and Skills among residents in Kibra Intergrated water, sanitation and waste management project on the wellbeing of Soweto East Residents, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The study sought out to determine the influence of knowledge and skills among residents in integrated water management influenced on the wellbeing of Soweto East residents in Kibra, Nairobi County. Apart from intense overcrowding, lack of proper and adequate infrastructure, housing and poor sanitation worsened by open sewages and lack of drainage systems have characterized Kibra slums for years. In addition, a series of factors including very low incomes, irregular employment, lack of secure land tenure or collateral, and lack of property and informational records prevent Kibra households from accessing loans to finance construction projects, housing improvements or home purchases. To address these problems, Government of Kenya (GoK) and UN-Habitat instituted Kibra Integrated Water, Sanitation and Waste Management Project (WATSAN) in Soweto East to support small-scale community-based initiatives in water, sanitation and waste management as an entry point, while also aiming at improving the livelihoods of people living in Soweto East. Study sought to examine the extent to which the Project has been successful in enhancing well-being of Soweto East residents. The study employed descriptive survey research design since it’s most suited when conducting research study to a large population. The sample frame for this study comprised of 980 households from 6400 beneficiaries from Soweto East. The study sample size was 90 respondents distributed randomly among beneficiaries’ households. Data collection was done using questionnaires and was thereafter analyzed quantitatively using SPSS version 20 as a tool and presented in form of frequencies, pie-charts, tables, and graphs. The study found out that knowledge and skills had a positive effect on the wellbeing of Soweto East residents in Kibra, Nairobi County. The study thus concludes that having proper knowledge and skills of water and waste management will translate to improved wellbeing of the slum dwellers. This is because, improvement of all aspects of the environment including sanitation and hygiene requires that the community has proper education and awareness, and these cannot be reached without the proper co-operation from the slum dwellers. The study recommends the need to facilitate stakeholder interaction by encouraging community-based institutions such as women groups, youth groups, Community Development Associations, traditional councils, Water and Sanitation Committees (WASHCOMs) and other identified interest groups. There is also need to educate the residents to enhance awareness on the effects of poor waste and sanitation practices and benefits of KWATSAN. The study further recommends successful enforcement procedures to safeguard efficient waste gathering and dumping.