THE EFFECT OF SELF-HELP PROJECT

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to know how the people of Egor local government area of Benin can come together and plan out ways of realising or achieving their felt needs and objective in relation to development. The research is also targeted at finding out the number of self-help projects the people have executed and how it has affected their lives. The subject used for this research were made up one hundred and eighty respondent who are inhabitants of the various communities of Egor local government area of Edo state. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher to collect data. Data were analyzed using simple percentage. It was revealed that in the past, self-help projects in Egor local Government Area were the construction of footpath or roads, dredging, of rivers and stream, clearing of public land and market places. These practices were not abandoned but instead improved upon. They then embarked upon developmental project such as assisting in the tarring of feeder roads and lanes, joint construction and building of schools, and provision of free land for the sinking of boreholes and other developmental projects. This is very useful not only in the area of infrastructural development but help to raise the horizon of the people. It has become a known fact that government alone cannot bring all the needed development to the rural communities. It is believed that self-help project promotion among the rural populace can be most successful if self-help groups established links with local association and traditional forms of organisation, (saving clubs, fieldworkers, faith based and Nongovernmental organisations e.t.c). As a result of the findings, the conclusions made were that self-help project has to a large extent contributed to development of the community and the society at large. As can be seen from the various project embarked upon.