Youth Participation in Community Development in Eastern Uganda

Abstract

The study investigated youth participation in community development in Eastern Uganda. Specifically, the study assessed youth awareness of their need to participate in annual planning, budgeting processes and decision making in the development of their communities, and the obstacles that hinder their participation in the development of their communities. The study employed descriptive survey design, and 305 respondents. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were the main instruments used for data collection. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. The study revealed that the youth were no aware of their need to participate in the annual planning, budgeting processes and decision making. Furthermore, the factors that hindered their participation in community development included among others lack of information, bureaucracy, low level of education, political affiliation, corruption, gender inequality, and poverty. The study further revealed that there is a positive and significant effect of youth participation on community development (adjusted R2 = .363, p = 0.000). The study recommended that leaders must purposefully engage young people to participate in maters that directly affect them during the planning and budgeting process, and a variety of strategies, including capacity building and education, can help increase youth participation