EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF THE MILLENNIUM VILLAGE PROMISE ON COMMUNITY NETWORKS: THE CASE OF SAURI MILLENNIUM VILLAGE IN WESTERN KENYA A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School At the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By BILLYSTROM ARONYA JIVETTI Dr. Stephen Jeanetta and Dr. Jere Gilles, Dissertation Supervisors December 2012 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the Dissertation entitled EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF THE MILLENNIUM VILLAGE PROMISE ON COMMUNITY NETWORKS: THE CASE OF SAURI MILLENNIUM VILLAGE IN WESTERN KENYA Presented by Billystrom Aronya JIVETTI A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Stephen Jeanetta Professor Jere Gilles Professor Mary Grigsby Professor David Obrien Professor William Folk DEDICATION Dedicated to Mama Rose Jiveti, Lillian Waswa, and Belinda Nyirisi. The three brave women who travelled this journey with me. To dad Joash Jiveti, who took the first step when he held my hand to Makuchi Pre-School several years ago. Lastly, to my siblings for believing in me. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A journey of this magnitude undoubtedly elicits many friendships, experiences, and memories that remain for a lifetime. Finding the right words to gratitude to all encounters can be a challenge and this is just an attempt. To Lillian, my wife, life companion, and mother extraordinaire; thank you for your love, prayers, and encouragement. I love you! Belinda, your words “daddy don’t go” truly gave me a reason to do it and strengthened our bond. I love you! I am thankful to my dissertation committee. Dr. Stephen Jeanetta, a true advisor whose tutelage and knowledge in community development left an indelible mark in my life. Thank you for the exceptional advice. I enjoyed working with Dr. Jere Gilles and his experiences in international development helped me greatly. My teaching skills were honed under the tutelage of Dr. Mary Grigsby and I am grateful for the advice and wisdom. Dr. David Obrien classes were so enjoyable. I thank Dr. William Folk for his helpful insights. I am also grateful to the Community Development Academy for the financial assistance towards my studies. Special tribute to my friends Kenny Sherin and his family, Cecilia Turin, and Justin Thomas with whom we braved the journey. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ii TABLE OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ vi TABLE OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. vii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH PROBLEM .................................................... 1 Background and Setting ................................................................................................. 1 Concerns about the MVP ............................................................................................... 3 Need for Research .......................................................................................................... 4 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................ 4 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................. 6 Profile and Description of Study Area .......................................................................... 11 Organization of the Dissertation .................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 14 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 14 Theories of Development ............................................................................................. 14 Mixed Results from Past International Rural Development Programs ........................ 18 Empowerment and Participation Policies of Development ......................................... 19 Millennium Development Goals .................................................................................. 20 Millennium Village Promise and Strategies to Create Sustainable Communities ....... 25 How MDGs Try to Address the Limitations of Previous Approaches........................... 27 The MVP - A New Approach or “Old Wine in New Bottle”? ........................................ 29 iii Kenya’s History with Rural Development Programs .................................................... 35 Social Capital and Community Development .............................................................. 39 Social Capital and the Millennium Village Promise ..................................................... 41 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ..................................................... 42 Introduction and Overview .......................................................................................... 42 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................... 43 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 43 Focus of the Research .................................................................................................. 44 Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 45 Study Design ................................................................................................................. 45 Data Collection Procedures .......................................................................................... 46 Challenges encountered during data collection .......................................................... 51 Data Analysis Procedures ............................................................................................. 53 Summary of Research Methods ................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS FROM INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS .................................................... 57 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 57 Networking Structures ................................................................................................. 58 Agriculture Sector Findings .......................................................................................... 61 Summary of agriculture findings .................................................................................. 95 Health Sector Findings ................................................................................................. 98 Summary of health findings ....................................................................................... 131 CHAPTER 5: QUANTITATIVE SURVEY OF COMMUNITY NETWORKS ............................... 135 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 135 Analysis Procedures for Quantitative Survey Data .................................................... 136 iv Summary of the findings from Quantitative Survey Data ......................................... 143 CHAPTER 6: ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................................... 146 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 146 Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 156 Summary of Analyses ................................................................................................. 170 Limitations of the study ............................................................................................. 191 Implications for Practice and Future Research .......................................................... 192 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 200 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 205 APPENDIX A: QUANTITATIVE SURVEY INSTRUMENT ...................................................... 214 APPENDIX B: QUANTITATIVE INSTRUMENT ................................................................... 218 APPENDIX C: AGRICULTURE PARTICIPANT PROFILES ..................................................... 226 APPENDIX D: HEALTH PARTICIPANT PROFILES ............................................................... 228 APPENDIX E: QUANTITATIVE SURVEY PARTICIPANT PROFILES ...................................... 229 VITA ................................................................................................................................. 230 v TABLE OF TABLES