Effects of Climate Variability on the Outbreak and Spread of Newcastle Disease in Suneka Division of Kisii County

Newcastle Disease (ND) is a common occurrence in Suneka Division. ND is caused by Avian Paramyxovirus Type 1, is one of the most significant diseases for poultry producers around the world. This poultry disease is influenced directly or indirectly by weather as it affects the timing and the intensity of an outbreak. This article examined the influence rainfall and temperature on the outbreak and the spread of Newcastle disease in Suneka Division of Kisii County. The study used a descriptive design with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The sample size was 200 households and respondents were poultry farmers. Veterinary officers were key informants. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Secondary data on rainfall and temperature was collected from the Kisii meteorological station for 2007 and 2011. Data was analysed using measures of central tendency such as means and mode. They were presented using frequency tables. Karl Pearson coefficient of correlation was used to test the null hypothesis that there was no relationship between temperature and rainfall, and the occurrence of ND at 5% level of significance. The study revealed that ND occurs during the months of July-August and December-January. It was generally found out that this disease occurs after the long March, April and May (MAM) and short rains October November and December (OND). It was also found out that there was a positive Pearson Correlation between rainfall and ND in the months of August (r = 0.286) and December (r = 0.275). However, there was a negative relationship in the months July (r = -0.549) and January (r = -0.144). Concerning temperature, there was a positive Pearson Correlation between temperature and ND in August (r =0.772), July (r = 0.683) and January (r = 0.159). But, in the month of December there was a negative Pearson Correlation (r = -0.546). To curb the ND menace and increase productivity of free range indigenous chicken, the research recommended that there was need for farmers to monitor weather changes by obtaining data from the meteorological weather stations. Educate small-scale farmers on how to adopt hygienic and bio-safe poultry rearing methods to minimize loss of chicken through diseases, pests and predation. Keywords: Free range, Indigenous chicken, Newcastle Diseas

Traditional Marriage Customs among the Gusii of Kenya

The main aim of this paper is to locate the traditional marriage customs among the Gusii of Kenya in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Attempts will be made to trace the changing trends of the said traditions. Apart from secondary sources, the paper will highly depend on the use of oral testimonies. Key words: marriage, customs, Abagusii

The contribution and influence of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in the development of post-secondary education in South Nyanza, 1971-2000

This study discusses the contribution and influence of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church to the development of post- secondary education in South Nyanza, Kenya. This has been done by focusing on the establishment and development of Kamagambo and Nyanchwa Adventist colleges whose history from 1971 to 2000 has been documented. This is a historical study which has utilized both the primary and secondary source of data. For better and clear insights into this topic, the study starts by discussing the coming of Christian missionaries to Africa. The missionaries who came to Africa introduced western education. The origin of the SDA church to Africa has also been documented. The SDA church was formed as a result of the Christian evangelical revivals in Europe. This called for the Christians to base their faith on the Bible. As people read various prophecies in the bible, they thought that what they read was to be fulfilled in their lifetime. From 1830s to 1840s preachers and lay people from widely different denominations United States of America around William Miller (1782-1849). This led to the establishment of the SDA Church in 1844. The study focuses on the coming of the SDA Missionaries to South-Nyanza. The efforts of the SDA Missionaries to introduce Western education in the said area, an endeavor which started at Gendia in 1906 has been discussed. From Gendia they established Wire mission and Kenyadoto mission in 1909. In 1912 Kamagambo and Nyanchwa, the subject of this study became mission and educational centres. The SDA mission, as was the case with other missionaries who evangelized South Nyanza, took the education of Africans as one of the most important goals for the process of African evangelization. The Adventist message penetrated the people of South Nyanza through their educational work. The conversion of the first converts can be ascribed to the desire for the education which accompanied the new religion. Kamagambo Adventist College became the first college in South Nyanza. Equally, Nyanchwa became the first college in the Gusii part of South Nyanza. The two colleges exercised a great influence on the local community especially in the socio-economic and educational fields. At the same time the colleges have also contributed enormously to the community’s development through the roles played by its alumni in society. Besides this, the study has also recommended some other pertinent areas for further study and research.Educational FoundationsD. Ed. (History of Education

The Place of Music and Dance in the Reconstruction of African Cultural History: a Case of the Abagusii of South-Western Kenya

This paper presents an overview exposition and critical reflection on the evolution and functionality of the pre-colonial African Music and dance among the Gusii of south-western Kenya. It seeks to address fundamental issues that are on the verge of being forgotten especially by the youth of this generation. It argues that music and dance among the Gusii have traditional roots as serves as a source of understanding the cultural history of the community. Indeed, without knowledge of a community’s cultural history, the historical destiny cannot be easily comprehended. This history makes it one of the most essential genres that the Gusii community’s ethnographic studies. It employs historical approach to explore the past musical and dance generic forms. This paper proceeds from the premise that, in the pre-colonial times, the Gusii had evolved elaborate music and dance forms conditioned by their social and natural environments. It was also established in this discussion that African music and dance, as practiced by the Gusii nurtured, enhanced, preserved and brought up emotionally, psychologically, ethically, socially stable and  a unitary indigenous community. The theories employed to explain the phenomenon of the pre-colonial music and dance were, Evolution, Diffusion, functionalism and theories of dance. The Study methodology into historical enquiry of the place of pre-colonial music and dance was carried out in three major phases as follows; employing data collection techniques on a systematic basis beginning with secondary sources in libraries, the marshalling of primary source materials in the Kenya National Archives, and   the gathering of data through oral interviews and observations in the research field. In this study, respondents were selected through snowball and purposive sampling techniques in order to obtain key custodians of the Gusii cultural history, who at the end of the study proved to be handy by providing up to date valuable information. Oral interviews were conducted between 1996 and 1998.Respondents included sixty elderly men and women from drawn form various parts of Gusii land, both professional and non-professional thought to be knowledgeable on the community’s cultural history. The data collected from both primary and secondary sources was sorted and analyzed qualitatively. From the study findings, it was established that music and dance practices among the Gusii reflected the community’s identity, since they are all, a vital artistic medium, through which people embody the self. This study will contribute to the understanding of African cultural history. Planners in the ministry of culture and social services may use these findings in the planning of socio-cultural activities in perpetuating cultural identity and African history in General. Key words: Abagusii, Reconstruction, Gusii, South-Western Keny

The changing trends in the development of teacher education in Kenya: The role of the Teacher’s Service Commission.

The aim of this article is to locate the changing trends in the development of teacher education in Kenya by looking at the role the Teachers Service Commission has played. Kenya just like other countries of the world needs to transmit their cultures from one generation to the next. Formal schooling was introduced in Kenya in the second half of nineteen century by Christian missionaries. They established schools in which they were ‘teachers’. The ‘mission’ and ‘bush’ schools expanded rapidly and this led to the establishment of teacher education. During the entire colonial period, the missionaries and the colonial government employed primary school teachers. The African teacher service and the government employed European secondary school teachers. In 1957, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) was established. The KNUT came up with decentralized system of handling teachers’ affairs. They pushed for the employment of teachers by a central body; this led to the establishment of the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) under an act of parliament (CAP 212) of the laws of Kenya in 1967. This paper traces the historical development of teacher education in Kenya. This includes primary teacher education, Diploma teacher education, Technical teacher education and Secondary school teacher education. The Teachers Service Commission over time has been coming up with academic requirements for the training of teachers. The institutions involved in the training of teachers especially universities for secondary school teachers have been having different entry requirements. The TSC being the only teacher employer in Kenya has rejected most of the teachers trained by universities who don’t meet its conditions. TSC has transformed over the years from merely serving as a staffing unit in the ministry of education to currently handling all that is stipulated in the mandate. Teacher education being a whole range of activities that constitute preparation for and improvement of the teaching profession, it is important that it be regulated, so that we are able to achieve vision 2030. Education is recognized as social pillar in Kenya’s vision 2030. Through the social, economic and political pillar, Kenya will become a middle income country with high quality life to its people. This paper traces the historical background of teacher education in Kenya, with a view to understanding the role of the Teachers’ Service Commission in its development and change over time. Keywords Education, development, teachers’ service commissio