Blue Kitabu Research Institute

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Blue Kitabu Research Institute

The Blue Kitabu Research Institute was created to conduct primary research in the communities we work in. Our research aims to help guide our school projects and to be given back to local community leaders when we feel our findings could help address specific issues within the community. Listed here are the results of our research fellowships in Ghana and Kenya.

Please feel free to read and utilize any of them and cite the author(s) where appropriate.

	Megan Lambert : : Understanding the Barriers to Female Education in Ghana	This research examines the obstacles young female students face while enrolled in public school in Ghana, particularly during the critical transition from junior high school to senior high school. The research involved quan- titative survey data and qualitative interview data. Three main obstacles emerged from the data: poverty, harassment, and a cultural mindset that devalues female education. This themes are analyzed in length, and program recommendations to alleviate these barriers are provided at the end.
	Divya Rao : : The Sustainability of Tilapia Fish Farming in Ghana	Fish are a primary source of protein for the communities of the Central Region of Ghana. Fish farming occurs on a commercial level as well as on a home-based level and methods of farming vary widely. The sustainability of each of these methods was analyzed and compared to determine the most effective, environmentally sustainable farming methods available. Recommendations are also made to improve sustainability and to conduct future research.
	Isabel Penaranda : : Farmer's Perception of Climate Change in Ghana	As the effects of climate change are increasingly felt every year, research is revealing which factors make a country and populations most vulnerable. Because of the agricultural basis of its economy, and because of the nature of this industry, Ghana unhappily finds much of its population at risk.
	Lorenzo Tovar : : Measuring the Effectiveness of Funding Rural Public Schools in Ghana- Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District	In 2007, former president John Agyekum Kufuor implemented reforms to Ghanas education system, calling for eleven years of Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) and four years of Senior High School (SHS). While the program has only been in effect for 4 school years, the Ghanaian government is hopeful that the changes made will show to be substantially effective in the years to come. There are, however, several issues that may impede on the programs success. Among these issues is the lack of funding provided to public schools, especially in the rural areas furthest away from the few large cities.
	Robert Rosencrans : : Translating Development - Language as an Indicator of the Local Social World	Linguistic and cultural barriers are a basic challenge to any international development project. Pilot interviews conducted in June of 2011 with native Ghanaian experts validate this perspective. Home to more than fifty languages in a square mileage roughly equivalent to the state of Oregon, Ghana proved a uniquely interesting case study for examining linguistic barriers and cultural barriers to successful development projects. I originally intended to produce a lexicon of useful agricultural phrases for developmental workers to understand. Instead of receiving a stable set of translations, I heard different explanations for different translations of the same term. These differing translations gave me indirect yet unique insights into the daily life experience of Ghanaians.
	Hong Cooke : : Battling Climate Change in Kenya	The primary goal of this research is to examine current water resource management at Ilkerin-Loita Boarding Primary School (Ilkerin-Loita, Kenya) and to seek potential solutions for its future development. Research methods included interviews with the members of the local community and the school, and field visits to nearby dams and villages. Also, to analyze the water demands five years into the future, information on the average student enrollment growth rate of the last five years and the estimated student daily water consumption were collected. The findings showed that the school's water resource management has employed different water management strategies to cope with its steadily increased water demand and continuously changing climate. However, the school will confront a water crisis in the next two years. It has to find a permanent water source to increase its climate change resistance and sustain its development long-term.
	Kenya Business Team 2012	The Blue Kitabu Business Development Fellows spent three weeks at the Ilkerin Loita Primary Boarding School (ILPBS) in the Maasai area of southern Kenya to work with school administration and community members to develop a sustainable business model for the school to generate income. The team was comprised of five USC students and two Blue Kitabu staff members and this document is the presentation made to the board of ILPBS at the conclusion of the fellowship.
	Colin Conwell : : Lamentations of Land and Lifestyle	This research explores the cultural aspects of sustainable development including community values, norms and behaviors that give character and contour to a given social group. The aim of this research is to find the manner in which indigenous culture might be harnessed in the education of others on sustainability in all its manifestations - agricultural, industrial or developmental.
	Megan Lambert : : Evaluating the Impact of NGOs in Ghana	Worldwide, NGOs account for 5% of the global gross domestic product, or $1.6 trillion per year in economic activity. While this is an enormous sector of global economy, only very recently has research begun to study the effectiveness and impact of these NGOs. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of NGOs that are assisting girls with their education in Ghana, and particularly in the Central Region. Seven NGOs were analyzed on five criteria - financial stability, long vs. short term impact, community support of the NGO, publicity, and tangible impact.
	Nathaniel Hsieh : : Maasai Special Needs Education	This research examines the various factors that prevent special needs education from becoming a reality in Kenyan Maasai communities. The barriers of cultural attitude, poverty, and inaccessibility which prevent Kenyan children from attending school in general are significantly magnified when it comes to children from rural Maasai communities. Those with special needs face these same obstacles to an even greater extent. This paper will discuss these obstacles at length and will also examine two organizations that are working to provide educational opportunities for disabled Maasai children. Recommendations for steps that may be taken to more fully actualize special needs education are made at the end.