While active participation of beneficiary communities in development initiatives is often considered critical, its value however, cannot be empirically determined without a good measure of the level of community participation. The objective of this study was to determine the level of community participation in the implementation of projects financed through a community grant facility referred in Kiswahili as Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani (HMP). The HMP project adopted a Community Driven Development (CDD) approach in engaging coastal communities in development initiatives. The research was carried out at the Kenya coastal region comprising six counties namely, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and Tana River. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive (frequencies, standard deviation and mean) with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study revealed that there was a high (2.81) Community Participation Index (COPI) in the overall implementation of the HMP projects signifying a high level of participation. There was a relatively lower COPI during proposal development stage-an indication of lack of skill in proposal development probably due to the high illiteracy level among coastal communities. The study concludes that the CDD approach is effective in actively engaging communities in the implementation of development initiatives. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the CDD approach can be used to develop contextualized strategies of enhancing community participation in development projects. The study also recommends that to optimize community participation in development initiatives, the twin challenge of high levels of illiteracy and inadequate skill in proposal How to cite this paper:

Access to essential social services such as education, health, water and sanitation is a challenge to many residents living in coastal Kenya. Kenya Coastal Development Project (KCDP), a World Bank funded multi-sectoral initiative, implemented its Community Development Fund popularly referred to in Swahili as Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani-HMP to improve access to social services among the coastal communities in Kenya. The HMP adopted the Community Driven Development (CDD) approach, whose underlying philosophy is community participation in the delivery of social services and the management of coastal natural resources. In this study, therefore, the extent to which community participation improved access to social services among the coastal communities was assessed using four dimensions of access comprising: availability, affordability, geographical accessibility, and acceptability. A total of 285 respondents from community project beneficiary groups were interviewed across the six coastal counties. There was a significant relationship between community participation and affordability of social services. The results also revealed that there was no significant relationship between community participation and the other dimensions of access namely: availability, geographical accessibility and acceptability of social services. The study indicates that community participation in development interventions is effective in enhancing affordability of social services. Conversely, it cautions that community participation in itself

Solid Waste Management Service (SWMS) is an important public good, although most local governments in developing countries have failed to effectively provide it to their populace. Ineffective SWMS has serious environmental and public health ramifications. Consequently, other players such as NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs), private companies and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) have to be involved in the delivery of SWMS. This study assessed the level of beneficiary for households" satisfaction with SWMS as rendered by Okoa Maisha Project (OMP -the Swahili translation for project of saving lives) operating under the auspices of Where Talent Lives (WTL) -a local CBO located in Mnarani Village in Kilifi County in Kenya. The study revealed that majority of the respondents (52.4%, n=152) were very satisfied with the overall SWMS as rendered by OMP. The satisfaction was mostly due to quality variables such as householders" education on solid waste management (54%, n=157), neatness of waste collection crew (52.4%, n=152) and reliability of waste collection (49.7%, n=144). Relative to other indicators, the respondents ranked low quality variables such as frequency of waste collection from households and the behaviour of the waste collection crew towards the residents. The study concludes by emphasising on the need for assessment of SWMS as provided by CBOs for improved service delivery. The study recommends routine supervision of the SWMS rendered by donor or government sponsored projects for effective and sustainable service delivery to the beneficiary householders and the community

While recognizing that community participation stimulates local self-reliance and reduced dependency on outside agencies, it is also appreciated that a number of factors influence participation. This study was conducted to determine the demographic factors that influence community participation by using empirical data collected from a sample of 326 community members who participated in the implementation of the Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani (HMP) project. The research was carried out at the

Sustainability of development projects is considered essential for the continued delivery of services to beneficiary communities beyond external financing. However, various factors cause community projects to fail the sustainability test. This study investigated the determinants of sustainability for community-based water projects implemented through World Bank and Kenya Government financing known as Hazina ya Maendeleo ya Pwani. Research was conducted using sustainability criteria comprising social, organizational, technical and financial aspects that were selected based on literature review and community perceptions. The research was conducted in Kenya’s coastal region using data collected from 285 respondents. Frequencies, means and percentages were used to describe data while the Structural Equation Modeling technique determined factors influencing sustainability. Results illustrated that all the four indicators assessed predict sustainability. However, only the technical and financial indicators influence sustainability significantly. In conclusion, while it is important to incorporate all the four indicators during planning and designing of community-based water projects, special attention must focus on financial and technical aspects. The study recommends that building the capacity of Community Based Organizations in terms of technical competence and financial resources to support operation and maintenance is a requirement, rather than a choice, for sustainability of community-based water projects.