Non-Governmental organizations and women’s participation in development projects: a case study of Plan International in Vikuruti Village, Kibaha district

The study attempted to examine the nature and extent of women’s participation in development projects implemented in partnership with Non-Government Organizations. The study sought to investigate how NGOs are striving to put the concept of participatory development into practice with a particular focus on women. The study examined women’s involvement in different stages of the project cycle. The study found that there is still a discrepancy between theory and practice of participatory development despite the agreement on the need to involve disadvantaged sections of society in development. The study also found that women’s participation in shaped by rational calculation of costs and benefits. However, not all development projects require similar level of nature of women’s participation and not all participatory methodologies are applicable in a variety of situations, places, and peoples. We recommend that NGOs devote resources (financial, time, materials) in the initial stages of their programmes so as to incorporate the needs of different categories of people. A simplistic definition of “target group” and “participation” is likely to be against the good intentions of getting people involved in determining their own development.