Abstract: The sustainability of projects funded by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) continues to be a critical issue, particularly in marginalized and arid areas such as Turkana County, Kenya. Many development initiatives in such regions face challenges of continuity once donor funding ends, often due to limited community involvement and weak ownership structures. This study examined how community participation influences the sustainability of NGO-funded projects in Turkana County by focusing on four key dimensions of participation: needs assessment, project planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Guided by the principles of Structural Functionalism, Resource Dependency, and Stakeholder theories, the study adopted a descriptive research design targeting project beneficiaries, local leaders, and NGO personnel. Data were collected from a sample of 212 respondents using structured questionnaires and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS (version 26). The findings revealed that community participation has a significant and positive effect on the long-term sustainability of NGO-funded projects. However, participation was found to be limited, particularly in the initial stages of needs assessment and planning, where most community members played passive roles such as providing labor rather than contributing to decision-making. The regression analysis demonstrated a strong positive relationship (R = 0.909; R² = 0.825) between the four dimensions of community participation and project sustainability, indicating that 82.5% of variations in sustainability were explained by the level of community involvement. The study concludes that sustainable project outcomes are more likely when communities are actively engaged throughout the entire project cycle. It recommends that NGOs strengthen participatory approaches by integrating local knowledge, fostering accountability, and building community capacity in planning and monitoring processes. Such inclusive strategies can enhance project ownership, align interventions with local priorities, and ensure that development initiatives continue to deliver value long after external support ends.
Keywords: Community participation, sustainability, NGO, Turkana County, Kenya.
Title: Community Participation and Sustainability of Projects Funded by Non-Governmental Organizations in Turkana County, Kenya
Author: Geoffrey Lokuwam Ipoo, Morrisson Mutuku
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
Vol. 13, Issue 4, October 2025 - December 2025
Page No: 64-77
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 09-October-2025
