Participatory appraisal
Practical Action
impact that infrastructure can have on their personal development, income and reduction of
poverty.
Development priorities using listing and ranking
During the group discussion the researcher sought to capture the development priorities of the
respondents. The group were asked to discuss their current needs and priorities for life now, in
the past and what they expected their future situation to be. The outcomes of the discussion
draw light on whether support is needed to solve problems and the expectations of the poor.
Listing, Ranking, Trend Analysis and Discussion PA techniques were used.
The residents were asked to list and then rank in order of priority, the problems they are currently
facing in their day to day lives. They were then asked to write a list of the problems they
encountered in the past – say ten years previously, well before the development of the watsan
facilities. They then indicated whether the situation was better or worse in the past. Finally the
residents were asked what change they expected to happen with their problems in the future and
to indicate whether their situation would improve or worsen. The results the residents gave have
been sorted and are presented in Table 1. The residents were generally optimistic about physical
and infrastructure developments for the future but they were generally pessimistic that their most
pressing problems of poverty, unemployment, crime and hunger would only get worse in the years
to come. This indicates the residents’ sense of hopelessness and low expectations of rising out
of poverty while continuing to reside in Silanga. Residents indicated a low expectation for social
issues including child and drug abuse, but revealed they feel more positive about future
developments in roads, infrastructure, housing and help from the government. This optimism
might be triggered by the ongoing government Kenyan Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP)
slum upgrading activities which are clearly visible within the community.
Table 1: Silanga Priorities.
Problems Now
Ranking Now Past Problems
Poverty
Unemployment
Insecurity/Crime
Not enough food
Poor health
Child labour/abuse
Not enough pay
Poor housing
No good education
Drug abuse (children exposed
to)
Pollution
Roads/infrastructure
Ignorance
Government don’t help
Fire hazards
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Worse
Better (before)
Worse
Better
Worse
Worse
Better
Better
Worse
Better
Worse
Worse
Worse
Worse
Better (more
space)
Future
Problems
Worse
Worse
Worse
Worse
Better
Worse
Worse
Better
Better
Worse
Better
Better
Better
Better
Better
Success and need for the infrastructure upgrading using cause-impact diagram
During group discussions residents were asked to discuss the need for, cause, impact and
success of the watsan project that has been constructed in their community. The residents were
then asked to draw a cause-impact diagram on chart paper to indicate the reasons for the
development of the watsan facilities and the related impacts they have observed. The outcome
of this exercise can be seen in Figure 3.
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