Sustainability of Youth Empowerment Programs and Relative Poverty Alleviation among Youths in Vihiga County, Kenya

Abstract

This study assessed the sustainability of youth empowerment program meant to alleviate poverty omVihhugo County, Kenya. The study used a mixed method research design guided by the Empowerment Theory and Masclow’s hierarchy of needs to analyze the research questions. The study used sample size of 399 youths selected using Yamane’s formula and conveniently selected key respondents from the selected cooperatives society and government, Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis were used to analyze the quantitative data while thematic analysis was utilized to analyze the qualitative data. The study revealed that youth empowerment program has a high sustainability level because of the constant follow-up, mentorship, and training of the empowered youths. The study also found out that institutional support and finances had a significant relationship with the sustainability of the youth empowerment program in the county (r = .427, p < .01) (r = .470, p < .01). The study also established that most of the empowered youths had improved their economic status after participating in the program. However, the study also established that the sustainability of the program faced several challenges in the county. The study recommends that there is a need to continuously invest in the empowered youths through mentoring and sufficient funds to help the youths acquire skills that are marketable. The study also recommends that there is a need to increase partnerships in youth empowerment programs to increase their sustainability.