Community confidence in WASH and development service delivery: a case from Kianjai, Kenya

Gaining the trust and confidence of the community is an important part of service delivery. This paper draws lessons on gaining community confidence by assessing the ‘(retrospective) disjointed incrementalism’ approach seen in the operations of a humanitarian and development organisation - Friends of Kianjai Kenya (FKK). FKK found that community distrust arises through an unexpected group response to an organisation’s actions. FKK assisted in the development of social capital in the community and that enabled effective communal action during community engagement and built the community’s confidence towards FKK. Building community confidence through disjointed incrementalism meant taking short steps towards achieving a long-term goal. This research showed that building community confidence enabled the successful completion of the project and facilitated the long-term sustainability of the services.