Shrines’ market appeal and authenticity drive religious tourism branding initiatives. Ideal packaging strategies further determine product performance in religious destinations. This article examined the potential contribution of market appeal and authenticity to religious tourism branding in the Kenyan Coast, Western, and Eastern regions. Multistage Cluster Sampling was used to sample 700 respondents. Surveys were conducted using structured interviews between February 2012 and April 2013. Questionnaires targeted communities, tourists, and tourism developers. Questionnaires examined the types of shrines, utilization rate, perceived importance, and current development levels. It further assessed applicable religious tourism branding strategies within regions. Data analysis involved factor analysis, ANOVA, and t-tests. Results indicated that Kenyan shrines serve natural, physical, and cultural purposes, which determine their market appeal. New brands, line-extensions, and brand extensions emerged significant product branding strategies ( p < 0.05). Thus, it implied perceived loss of product authenticity.

Education plays a key role in human development through the process of empowering people to improve their well being and participation in national building. Dropout however poses a serious threat to gains in education despite the Government emphasis on Education for All by the year 2015. In Igembe District the problem is more pronoused among the male children. The study used the ex-post facto research design. The target and accessible population constituted of educational officers, head teachers, guidance and counseling teachers and pupils. A sample size of 364 was used for the study.This study sought information on causes of dropout among boys and strategies that could be adopted to address this problem. The study established that dropout of male pupils was a common problem that required urgent attention. The major factors leading to dropout included; child labour, family instability, initiation, drug abuse and lack of role models. The study recommends affirmative action for the boy child, abolishing of child labour and initiation of boys after completion of primary school as strategies that could address dropout among male pupils.

The study aimed to examine the youth involvement level in Church initiated programmes in the Methodist Church in Kenya, Nyambene Synod. Methodist Church in Kenya has come up with Church-initiated programmes to assist the youth struggling with different life issues. However, the problem continues to persist in Nyambene Synod, where the youth have kept migrating from MCK to other churches, despite the significant role church-initiated programmes play in church. The study employed a descriptive research design. Data were obtained from questionnaires, focus group discussions and interview schedules. Functionalism theory was used to establish the level of youth involvement in church-initiated programmes. The study found that not all youth participate in church-initiated programmes, and Circuit ministers and circuit leaders were not offering church-initiated programmes effectively. This study recommends that the church ought to embrace modern ways, including technology, to involve more youth in the programmes and give the youth more room to express themselves through different youth activities, which should be carried out more often to retain them in church.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the youth programs offered by the youth ministry department in character formation in the Methodist Church in Kenya- Kaaga Synod. Bandura’s social learning theory led this study from a sociological point of view. During the study, descriptive Formats were used to collect, analyse, compare and interpret the data. The study targeted five circuits in Kaaga Synod, Meru County The study used random samples to select churches. A sample of youth church members was selected using the proportionate sampling technique. Targeted samples were used for selecting church ministers, youth ministers and church chairpersons as key informants because of their accurate knowledge of church youth issues. The researcher used questionnaires, interview schedules, and focus group discussions to gather the necessary information. Discussions, as well as tables, were used to collect and analyse the data. The findings of this study contributed to the knowledge of religion and morality. The outcome of this study is also beneficial to participants who are policymakers and designers, parents and educators in their efforts to promote youth morals.