Childrens' Participation in Drought Mitigation Activities in Nyatike District, Migori County, Kenya

Child participation is both an act and process that allow children to engage in issues that concem their wellbeing and the welfare of society at large. Children have an understanding and perception of their circumstances, and their actions would be determined by prevailing situations. Drought situation is a recurrent phenomenon whose onset and end are often difficult to determine, just as its severity, Its effects and associated pressures disrupt the functioning of a society. Nyatike District is a semi arid area in Kenya that often experiences recurrent drought situations which make children adjust by participating in varied drought mitigation activities threatening their welfare and preventing them from realizing their dreams in life. The problem for the study therefore was that despite all the systems ill place for improved child wellbeing, children from Nyatike District were still engaged in .;various kinds of a~tivities as ways of drought mitigation which not only interfered with their rights and welfare, but also hindered them from realizing their full potential in life. It was on this ground that this study sought to examine child participation in drought mitigation activities. The specific objectives of the study were to examine tfleactivities dl.ildren were involv.ed in as drought mitig.ation efforts, .establish levels of children participation in drought mitigation activities and find out the challenges and effects of participation in drought mitigation activities among children. The study was guided by Basic Needs Theory by Abraham Maslow (1943) who posited that human beings are motivated inwardly to fulfill the most basic needs in life. The study focused on child participation in drought mitigation activities and households were the unit of analysis. It adopted cross sectional descriptive design where both cluster and simple random sampling methods were used. The district according to the Kenya population census of 2009 had a population of 144,625 people and 30,423Households. A sample of395 respondents of both children between the ages of8 and 17years and their parents were selected using Glenn Israel's formula from the entire number of households in the district with a margin error of ±5. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using questionnaires, 'key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Data was analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics such as means, averages and percentages, Open ended responses were recorded word for word to determine the frequencies of each response. The number of respondents giving similar responses was converted to percentages to illustrate relative levels of opinion. Data analysis was' carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 1'6.The findings were presented in tables and graphs. The study findings showed that children performed various activities as drought mitigation measures at various levels with the family and schools being the most prevalent levels of participation. The study findings also showed that children were exposed to many challenges and were affected severely by participating in drought mitigation activities. The study contributes to the academic body of knowledge and provides policy makers with a basis for designing responsive approaches and interventions required to meet the threshold for the protection of children and thus safeguards the rights and welfare of children.