Community Participation and Performance of One Cup Milk Per Child Programme in Rwanda; A Case of Selected School Based Early Childhood Development’s in Gicumbi District

Abstract

The study lookd at the role of community participation on the performance of one cup milk per child programme in Rwanda especially in Gicumbi District (2019-2021). Specific Objectives were to examine the influence of program planning, decision making and monitoring and evaluation on the performance of one cup milk per child programme in Gicumbi District. The study was guided by stakeholder theory and resource based view theory. The research adopted a combination of descriptive and analytic research designs to assess the community's involvement in the program and evaluate its effectiveness. The target population consisted of committee members, student committees, parent committees, and program teams at the district and sector levels, with a total population size of 244 individuals. The research used purposive sampling to select participants with relevant information, and data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and documentary reviews. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple linear regressions. Findings on the first objective confirmed that the community's suggestions and input were considered, together with the resources that were available, while designing the One Cup Milk Per Child Programme in the Gicumbi district stated by 85.3% respondents strongly agreed and agreed. Findings on the second objective confirmed that healthier judgments about the One Cup Milk Per Child Programme in the Gicumbi District are made as a result of gathering pertinent community involvement information, stated by 89.7% respondents strongly agreed and agreed. Findings on the third objective showed the community is aware of the program's goals and objectives, which helped with the creation and execution of One Cup Milk Per Child Programme in the Gicumbi District, stated by 94.1% respondents strongly agreed and agreed. The correlation matrix results indicated there is a very strong correlation between program planning and performance of One Cup Milk Per Child Programme as Pearson correlation is 0.917** with the p-value of 0.000, which is less than standard significance levels of 0.01. This indicates that, out of the considered other factors influencing performance of One Cup Milk Per Child Programme in Rwanda, only program planning has significant and high positive effect on the performance of One Cup Milk Per Child Programme in Gicumbi district. This eventually signifies that planning for the program is very vital and assists in the management of the stakeholders.  The research recommended that management of school programme for One Cup Milk Per Child should choose among best decision alternative that improve performance in the programmes in the district.  Management of the program should ensure that community members have a control over the choosing and electing One Cup Milk Per Child Programme committee members in the district. Management should ensure that community is understanding the goals and objectives of the program to aid the design and implementation of One Cup Milk Per Child Programme in Gicumbi district. Keywords: Program planning, decision making, monitoring & evaluation, performance, Gicumbi district, Rwanda