Strategies adopted by women associations in community development activities in sagbama local government area of Bayelsa state, Nigeria

Abstract

The study analyzed the strategies adopted by rural women associations in community development activities in Sagbama Local Government Area of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained through a structured and validated interview schedule administered to a sample size of 60 respondents from 15 women associations randomly selected from 26 registered women associations in the study area. Data were analyzed with the aid of frequency, percentage and mean. The result showed that majority of the respondents (about 33.3%) are within the age range of 40-49 years, about 53.3% of them have a household size of 10 and above persons, while 53.3% of them attained secondary education level. The community development activities rural women associations in the study area participate in include: provision of community boreholes (mean = 3.17), construction of community market stalls (mean = 3.17), building of community town halls (mean = 3.03), provision of rental services (mean = 2.50), among others. Among the strategies adopted by rural women associations in community development, mobilization of available community resources to support development projects, advising intervention agencies on priority areas of need, donation of resources for welfare services, provision of credit and loan to members were ranked high. It was therefore recommended that women associations should be drawn into the mainstream of rural development project planning and implementation processes.

Keywords: Strategies, Rural women Associations, Community Development Activities.