Street Begging Research Articles

CATEGORIES OF STREET BEGGARS AND FACTORS INFLUENCING STREET BEGGING IN CENTRAL TANZANIA

This study examined categories of street beggars and factors influencing beg- ging activities in Central Tanzania using Dodoma and Singida Municipalities as case studies. A cross-sectional research design was employed in this study. Structured questionnaires were administered to 130 street beggars, who were selected from various public spaces using a convenience sampling technique. Focus-group discussions, key-informant interviews, and observations were also used to collect primary data. The study found that street beggars fell into four categories namely beggars on the streets, beggars of the streets, beggars in the streets, and beggars of street families, based on where they slept after begging hours and con- tacts with their families. Furthermore, the phenomenon of street begging is an outcome of many factors, including poverty, unemployment, physical challenges, death of parents, and family disintegration. The study recommends that to address the phenomenon of street beg- ging, policy planners and local government authorities must adopt multi-faceted, multi-target- ed, and multi-tiered approaches in the form of preventative and responsive interventions.

Challenges faced by Women With Visual Impairment in Living a Sustainable Livelihood

The nature of the challenges faced by women with visual impairments remains
 uncertain. However, studies have been done on women with disabilities in general but
 none has focused on women with visual impairments. This study sought to establish
 the challenges faced by women with visual impairments in living a sustainable
 livelihood in urban areas.
 A descriptive survey design was used in order to obtain a true and comprehensive
 picture of individuality. Primary data was collected through interview schedules and
 questionnaires.
 Data was collected from women with visual impairments in selected government
 line ministries. For those not in employments, data was collected from the central
 business district where they parade to ask for alms from well wishers.
 The target sample was all women with visual impairments registered with the
 Federation for the Blind and based in Lusaka urban. Stratified sampling was used to
 classify women with visual impairments into their economic status such as those in
 formal employment and those not working at all.
 Sixteen (50%) of women with visual impairments were in formal employment
 while sixteen (50%) were on the street begging. Twenty-one (66%) of the women with
 visual impairment revealed that they were not able to live a sustainable livelihood
 due to the different challenges they faced while eleven (44%) stressed that they were
 managing because they had a salary though it was not enough to cater for their basic
 needs. From the findings it has been noted that women with visual impairments have
 a lot of challenges on sustainable livelihood. Sixty-six (66%) of the women stated
 that they were not able to live a sustainable livelihood, as most of them depended on
 begging for their livelihood. The money they realised from begging could not meet
 all their basic needs. The findings also reveal that the women with visual impairments
 despite their level of education, could not be offered any other job apart from being
 telephone operators. From the sixteen (50%) of women with visual impairments who
 are in formal employment, eleven (69%) had attained grade nine while five (31%)
 were grade twelve school leavers and yet they were doing the same job. The grade
 twelve school leavers felt unfairly treated because sight had disadvantaged them in
 the area of wanting to do other professions of their dreams. Further, it was found that
 there were some cultural factors that contribute to the challenges women with visual
 impairments face. In as much as they know that they have no sight, they feel they must
 be appreciated as human beings just like the women with sight. The findings show that Challenges faced by Women With Visual Impairment in Living a Sustainable Livelihood
 twenty (63%) of all the participants indicated that they were discriminated, segregated
 and abused by the sighted in different ways. Eleven (35%) of the women with visual
 impairment stated that as they were growing up, they were over-protected and over-
 looked and this had contributed to their poverty situation today.
 The results of the study indicate that there is a strong relationship between being
 visually impaired and sustainable livelihood among women despite their education
 levels. The study has also revealed that although there is so much awareness on
 disability issues, women with visual impairments are still discriminated and excluded
 from the mainstream activities. Therefore, stakeholders in disability issues should
 address the plight of these women. Recommendations made include:
 (a) Government and stakeholders in the welfare of women with visual impairments
 should ensure that information on Citizen Economic Empowerment is
 transcribed into Braille if the visually impaired are to benefit from the scheme.
 (b) Government through appropriate authorities should reduce the number of
 procedures involved in accessing the funds.
 (c) Since education is a factor in improving the livelihood of an individual, government
 through relevant ministries should build more schools and provide bursaries and
 or scholarships to the visually impaired to attain vocational training.
 (d) The visually impaired who have attained high school level should be allowed to
 venture into careers of their choice.

Disability Rights: The Need for Safeguard

Persons with disabilities have since suffered so much violation of their human rights due to various reasons one of which is the tardy response of the Nigerian federal legislature in enacting a Disability law. These most vulnerable groups are currently exposed to frequent abuses from different quarters because of the absence of a specific legal framework to safeguard their human rights. The Nigerian constitution which is the only domestic law guaranteeing its citizens’ fundamental rights is however limited in scope as it does not address disability rights specifically. In recent times, several appeals have been made to the Nigerian federal legislatures (the ‘National Assembly’) on the urgent need to pass the pending Disability Bill into law so as to ensure full integration of persons with disabilities into the society, but all efforts seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Unlike a number of countries of the world who have enacted legislations protecting the rights of the disabled, the contrary is the case in Nigeria. Despite the fact that Nigeria has been a State Party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) since 24th September, 2010, she has still not deemed it fit to enact a law on this very sensitive subject. Instead, this bill has continued to go through unnecessary process of deliberations by the Nigerian federal legislatures.Similarly, persons with various forms of disabilities which include children, women and adults are relegated to the background and often treated as outcast. They are perceived as “objects” of charity, rather than “subjects” with rights. They suffer discrimination in diverse sectors of the society and are equally excluded from the mainstream of the society. Likewise, they are exempted from enjoying their invaluable rights and privileges which most of the other members of the society benefit from. This is in no doubt contrary to international and regional human rights instruments which eschews discrimination in all its forms. Sadly, a handful of these disabled persons end up getting involved in street begging and other ridiculous activities owing to frustration. Most of them, especially disabled children and women suffer from psychological trauma and depression as a result of the rejection they encounter. The government is equally guilty, as it exhibits an attitude of indifference towards disabled persons. This entire ordeal is a clear deprivation and encroachment on their fundamental human rights. Considering the above, this paper will take an in-depth look at the common forms of violations or barriers faced by disabled persons in the society and the grave effect of such violations. Practicable and concrete recommendations that will help safeguard the inherent dignity of these vulnerable groups will then be proffered.

Staving-Off the Menace of Human Trafficking in Africa and Rethinking the Way Forward: Nigeria, a Case in Point

Historically, Africa has been recognized as a ground for the export of slaves. This vestige was left on Africa right from the days of colonialism when the British and the French subjugated Africans. In order words, Africans were perceived as slaves who had no prospect for existence. Sadly, several years after emancipation from slavery so many Africans have still not being liberated. This is based on the premise that so many are still being coerced into modern day slavery out of their own personal will, while a large number of victims are propelled into it as a result of difficult circumstances staring them in the face most especially in Nigeria where the level of crippling poverty has been discovered as one of the causal factors. Pathetically, the bulk of the primary victims are women and children whose lives have being practically ruined by this horrible experience. In this contemporary age, human trafficking has become another means of enslaving Africans of which Nigerians are not excluded. It is the modern day slavery that has continued to thrive because of its profitability without taking cognizance of the fact that it culminates in absolute devaluation of the victims’ human rights as encapsulated in various international, regional and national laws. Admittedly, trafficking has in recent years turned a veritable source of income in the hands of perpetrators of this clandestine and organized crime. It is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple stakeholders at the institutional and commercial level.Also, trafficking has become a demand-driven global business with huge market for cheap labor, commercial sex and other human rights abuses. Nigeria which is a case in point in this paper, has acquired a reputation for being one of the leading African countries in human trafficking ranging from cross-border to internal trafficking. Contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and other national and international legislations against trafficking, slavery and abuse of dignity of person’s, perpetrators continue to flout human rights with impunity.Respect for human rights in Nigeria has plummeted drastically as these fundamental human rights are being subverted on daily basis as a result of lack of enforcement of these laws. The downward trajectory in the respect for human rights in Nigeria needs serious attention.Indubitably, trafficking of persons is the third largest crime after economic fraud and drug trade. In Nigeria, victims of trafficking have found themselves involved in prostitution, hard labor, domestic services and street begging just to mention a few. Unfortunately, Most of these victims never bargained for this. They were either lured or forced into it.Nigeria as a country witnesses internal trafficking on a daily basis from one State to another most especially migration to the urban centers from the rural areas and slums where the standard of living is nothing to write home about. Victims’ of these criminal acts are predominantly those from very poor backgrounds who cannot afford basic needs of livelihood. They eventually end up as victims in the hands of pimps who dissuade them and use them as a means of enriching their own personal pockets with little or no benefit for the victims. These perpetrators who are majorly referred to as ‘pimps’ or ‘madam’ are the ones behind the movement of these victims from one location to another because of the financial consideration they get from the business. Further still, there had been dart of court cases in Nigeria against perpetrators which is why this venture has continued to flourish rapidly.Despite international conventions and domestic laws, there remains indifference and a lack of commitment to protect those most at risk through implementation of legislation, awareness, information, and training of the authorities responsible for providing protection.In the light of the above, this paper shall consider the root causes of trafficking and the damaging effect so far on the Nigerian society with particular focus on victims and move on to propose measures that would assist in protecting and enhancing human rights. Also, this paper will examine the rights based approach in the areas of remedies available to victims and the appropriate penalties that must be meted-out to human traffickers and the end users.

Diseased, Maimed, Mutilated: Categorizations Of Disability and an Ugly Law in Late Nineteenth-Century Chicago

The article places Chicago's "ugly" law—an 1881 municipal ordinance that fined "any person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or in any way deformed so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object" for appearing in public—within the context of late nineteenth-century imaginings of disability. Drawing on the framework of disability studies, this paper demonstrates that nineteenth-century understandings of disability had little to do with the impairments of individuals but instead were tied to the status of the person with the disability. Examining the role of disabled people as workers, as bodies and as charity recipients reveals the hierarchies of disability in late nineteenth-century Chicago and demonstrates who the ugly law intended to restrict and, just as importantly, who it did not. While the law appears to be a blanket indictment of all physically disabled people, multiple sources indicate that the public expected disabled veterans, workers, and freak show performers to occupy the public realm; they therefore cannot be the intended objects of the ordinance. Instead, Chicago's ugly law was one of many pieces of legislation enacted in the wake of the panic of 1873 that attempted to eradicate street begging in general by specifically targeting beggars with disabilities.

Effective Methods of Combating Street Begging in Nigeria as Perceived by Panhandlers

This investigation was set out to study Effective Methods of Combating Street Begging as perceived by the Panhandlers. Four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study made use of an instrument known as “Effective Methods of Combating Street Begging Questionnaire” (EMOCSRQ). The instrument had a reliability coefficient of 0.83 and was administered on a total of one hundred and seventy-five respondents made up of male and female, old and young, Moslem and non-Moslem and married and unmarried beggars. One hundred and forty subjects returned their copies showing eighty percent retrieval rate. The Z-test statistics was employed to analyse the data and the findings revealed that Rehabilitations centres, monthly survival allowance, Diverted Giving Scheme as well as provision of food for Islamic Schools are effective methods of curbing street begging. Keywords: Methods; Combating; Begging; Effective; Panhandlers

PRESENTING THE “TRUE FACE OF SYRIA” TO THE WORLD: URBAN DISORDER AND CIVILIZATIONAL ANXIETIES AT THE FIRST DAMASCUS INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION

The postwar period of 1945 to 1963 witnessed dramatic political and economic transformations in Syria. To date, however, the cultural manifestations of these transformations remain largely unexamined. This article seeks to begin the process of redressing that historiographic imbalance and recovering the meaning of these transformations for those who experienced them through a close reading of the discourse surrounding the first Damascus International Exposition of 1954. This event constituted the stage upon which the recently independent, and still fragile, Syrian state conducted an exercise in autoethnography, the attempt to define and represent itself to its citizenry and to the outside world, as well as the screen upon which Syrians' collective longings were focused and projected. Thus, I treat this body of discourse as a unique opportunity to apprehend an emergent elite's anxieties about foreigners' perceptions of their country, as expressed in this stratum's homiletic discourse about street begging and other forms of urban disorder that threatened to disrupt the exposition's staging.

Psychosocial characteristics of totally blind people in a Nigerian city

Purpose:To characterize the demographic and psychosocial problems of a group of blind people as a way of attracting more attention to and providing data that can improve the psychosocial care of the visually impaired.Materials and Method:A cross-sectional descriptive study of a population of totally blind people in Ilorin, Nigeria using a self-report questionnaire (SRQ). The questionnaire was verbally administered by the study personnel in the local language. Simple frequency tables were obtained and the Chi-square test was performed to determine significant differences between variables. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:Sixty one blind patients consented to participate. Most participants were engaged in street begging for their livelihood. Most subjects desired a job change, signifying dissatisfaction with the present occupation. Up to 80% of the cohort was married and had spouses who were also blind in at least one eye. Approximately two-thirds had five or more children and majority lived with family members who were responsible for taking care of their personal hygiene, cooking and mobility. The majority developed blindness in childhood and 16% had a family history of blindness and 77% had never used conventional eye care, with corneal disease being the most frequent cause of blindness. Many feared that their children may also become blind. Thirty-one (51%) scored ≥5 on SRQ and were classified as probable cases of psychological disorder.Conclusion:Blindness in a majority of cases that started in childhood was probably preventable. Inaccessibility to or failure of the formal rehabilitation and social welfare systems may have caused this psychosocial dilemma. The high level of social and family interaction provides opportunity for organized preventive ophthalmology, community health care services and psychosocial care.

Enhancing Sustainable Participation in Local Livelihood Activities by the Refugees in Nigeria

The extent to which the international bodies provide for the refugees is far from being a success story. These refuges face serious problems of hunger, molestation, street begging, theft and prostitution. Out of the three zones, Oru/Awa/Liaporu zone was purposively chosen for the study. One hundred and nineteen refugees were randomly selected. This research study focused on potential livelihood activities of refugees in order to identify areas for helping them. The study showed the problems the refugees faced such as lack of Education (68.6 %) lack of healthcare (41 %), discrimination from indigenes (43.8 %) and inadequate food supply (41.9 %) as very serious constraint, leaving a greater percentage of them surviving on alms, while some get involved in self-sponsored commercial activities with little or no returns. Some income generating activities of these refugees include: very few of the male (18.7 %) engaged in sawmill and Okada riding (17.6 %). While the female engaged in petty trade (23.1 %) and weaving (6.6 %). The result of the study revealed significant difference between gender and livelihood activities (t = -5.448; p = 0.000). Spearman's rho rank correlation coefficient showed a correlation between constraints faced and engagement in livelihood activities (r = -483; p = 0.000). This circumstance does not favor the refugees and this denies them of any right. Without rights such as access to humanitarian services, work, movement in and out of the camp and settlement, they will find it difficult to benefit and therefore become trapped and impoverished. The refugees need to engage themselves in various activities in other to supplement with what they receive from philanthropist in order to alleviate their sufferings. Therefore, attention should be given on how they can contribute to their own survival and development.

Adolescent Street Boy Urchins and Vocational Training in Northern Nigeria

In northern Nigeria, over 80% of the unskilled and uneducated adolescent street boys, or Almajiris, are from the ethnic Hausa-Fulani tribes. They depend on street begging and menial jobs for daily survival. In dealing with the situation, state vocational centers were established as the Millennium Hope Project (MHP) to provide the boys with trades and skills for self-reliance and socioeconomic transformations. This article presents findings from an educational policy evaluation research study of the MHP implementation and outcomes. The research was based on an ethnographic approach using multimodal data derived from interviews and observations and data analysis-involved transcription, categorization, and coding. Major themes include the cultural identities and statuses of the boys, curriculum implementation and management of the project, socioeconomic transformation of learning outcome, and the challenges and positive impacts of the MHP on the boys. The themes are discussed using the boys' “voices” and pertinent literature. The conclusion includes educational policy remedies for future reforms and modification of the project.

Begging on the streets of Addis Ababa: An impact of musculoskeletal disability

Background: This was a 2-year interventional prospective study aimed at determining the frequency and pattern of musculoskeletal disability among beggars of the streets of Addis Ababa. It was part of a continuous multidisciplinary study that was trying to assess causes of street begging and looked for ways to stop it or at least bring it to ’tolerable’ proportions. This part of the study mainly focused on treatable/correctable musculoskeletal disabilities leading to begging on streets in the city. It also assessed the degree, duration and reasons for street begging and determined whether correcting treatable musculoskeletal disabilities stopped beggars from begging or not. The study setting was in Addis Ababa city, in collaboration with C.A.R.D.O.S. Ethiopia. Methods: This was an interventional prospective follow-up study on beggars of the streets of Addis Ababa who claimed musculoskeletal disability as their main cause for begging. A location in a sub city was selected for a reason of hosting the largest number of beggars. In collaboration with the local administrator a clinic was opened amidst the busy street and volunteer street beggars with musculoskeletal disability were recruited for the study. Surgical procedures were performed in 61 ‘patients’ and were followed for two years, from April 2007- April 2009. Some beggars refused a clearly beneficial surgery Results: Our survey revealed there are 1,237 street beggars including the outskirts of ‘Entoto” mountain. Nearly two-third of the street beggars were males and age ranged from a week to 90. Of the 204 beggars with musculoskeletal disability, 118 were evaluated to clearly benefit from a successful surgical procedure. The commonest diagnosis was leprosy with its complications recorded in 47 of the 204, followed by bone and joint infections, 13.2 %( 27/204) and complex, unclear congenital anomalies ranked third. Neglected dislocations, mal-united of non united fractures were observed in twenty (9.8%) of the street beggars. Iatrogenic cause was discovered as a cause of disability in six beggars. Sixty one beggars were operated. The ages for operated cases ranged from 12 to 78 years. The duration of begging in beggars selected for surgery was from 4.5 to 56 years. Corrective amputation, Bone grafting and Sequestrectomy were the commonest procedures in respected order. One patient died due to concomitant cardiac illness. From the whole group 68 patients went back to begging while from the operated group only a single patient recently was found begging in one of the streets in Addis. Conclusion: Musculoskeletal disability may lead to begging. Well-funded, multi sectoral long-term campaign on begging will possibly reduce it to a ‘tolerable’ level.

Escape from the Great Confinement: The Genealogy of a German Workhouse

Early in 1588, the city council of Nuremberg commissioned a blue-ribbon panel of local notables to address the perennial local problem of street begging. Since the council’s centralization of almsgiving and poor relief in 1522, all public panhandling had been considered unnecessary as well as illegal. Yet despite over sixty years of mandates and ordinances threatening fines, imprisonment, or even banishment, the practice appeared to magistrates to be actually increasing in frequency and magnitude. Among the various suggestions offered by panel members, one stands out by reason of its remarkably precocious timing. Councilman Paulus Koler commiserated with his fellow city councilors on the plague of street beggars harassing and occasionally threatening the city’s residents. He considered all previous legislation useless, however, and could not foresee that simple rewording of the same would in any way alter the outcome. Even previous surveys of beggars in the city and its suburbs “had borne little fruit,” both because of the list compilers’ ineptitude and the council’s failure to make effective use of the information. Instead Koler made the following more radical proposal: “that the council ordain a special place (for which purpose the pesthouse might be renovated) . . . and therein appoint an industrious man (who might be chosen from among the alms officials) and have an ordinance written for him [entailing] how and under what conditions he should feed the arrested beggars and children and otherwise provide for the

Approaches to tackling the menace of street begging by visually disabled persons in Northern Nigeria

Street begging is a social challenge that is more rampant in Northern Nigeria than elsewhere in the country. Some poor individuals resort to street begging to sustain their families. Street begging is found more among people living with physical challenges, particularly the blind persons. We reviewed the literature on the causes of blindness and challenges to accessing curative and rehabilitation support services. This is with a view to draw the attention of policy formulators on the appropriate rehabilitation of the visually disabled persons in order to tackle the menace of street begging in Northern Nigeria. A review of the literature was done electronically as well as manually. For electronic search, various scientific journals and web-based search engines were used. The search terms were blind street beggars, visual disability among beggars, avoidable blindness, blindness in northern Nigeria, socioeconomic impact of blindness, psychosocial impact of blindness, challenges of rehabilitation in Nigeria, visual disability in Northern Nigeria, destitution in Nigeria. Cross references of relevant articles were also retrieved. Majority had blindness from avoidable causes (over 75%) and had difficulty in accessing curative and rehabilitation support services. In the light of the avoidable nature of the majority of the causes of blindness among blind beggars in Northern Nigeria, coupled with the existing inadequate modalities for rehabilitating incurably blind, it is recommended that, a comprehensive eye care program on preventive, curative and rehabilitative services with a strong public health education campaign on the avoidable causes of blindness and discouraging street begging should be put in place by relevant stakeholders.