The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in poverty alleviation and education, a case study in Sefwi-Wiawso Municipality

Abstract

The study examined the roles of NGOs in poverty alleviation and education in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality in the Western Region of Ghana. The work was guided by development theories notably modernization theory, dependency theory, community development theory, neo-liberalism and underpinned by three main philosophical components to wit; ontological, epistemological and methodological approaches. The exploratory mixed method design was employed for the study. Primary data were sourced from questionnaires and interviews. Two out of 20 communities were randomly selected from the Municipality. A sample size of 199 respondents participated in the study representing 99.5% response rate. Out of the number, one official from an NGO and ten other respondents were purposively selected to answer interview questions. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS version 20, and the results were presented in the form of charts and tables whilst qualitative data were transcribed and analyzed thematically to support the quantitative data. The results revealed that the NGOs provide educational support, financial assistance, advisory counseling and advocacy, employment opportunities and provision of basic social amenities such as potable water. These activities of NGOs have brought great impact, which have led to improvement in education, a reduction in household and community poverty levels in the Municipality. Also, it was found that, NGOs face problems in the form of cumbersome nature of registration process, land acquisition and the repayment of loans by beneficiaries in the communities among others.