Begging for alms has become a pain for many street beggars in the country’s capital due to the current economic hardships and the high standard of living.
Most of them cannot get enough money to afford food and pay their rents.
At Kaneshie, a man known as Mohammed lamented the hours he spends sitting under the footbridge to beg for money, which he sometimes does not get.
With a look of despair, the 64-year-old without a job and savings prays expectantly for handouts from people who navigate the stairs in and out of the Kaneshie market.
He says securing ¢20 daily has become difficult because people hardly give out their loose change.
He blames the situation on Ghana’s poor economic conditions.
“Now the handouts aren’t enough; sometimes, 50p or ¢1. Others don’t even give at all. Everything has become expensive. These days, paying for my rent is very difficult.
“Now we can’t even cook every day; life has become very difficult,” he said in the JoyNews’ Living Standard Series interview.
Mohammed migrated from Tamale to Accra in the year 2000. However, without any skill, he could not find any work.
He said though he crawled to many places seeking jobs, nobody hired him because of his physical disability. He then made up his mind to beg to survive.
Many like him line the Kaneshie footbridge daily, hanging their hopes on the kindness of strangers.
Currently, he lives in a one-bedroom house with his wife and children, adding that life has become unbearable for them.
Another beggar, Hajia, travelled from Kano in Nigeria to Ghana for greener pastures.
With difficulty in communicating, her economic situation worsened in Ghana.
“I struggled to find food to eat there [in Kano]. Now that I am in Ghana, I sleep in front of people’s shops. These days it’s hard to get cash, but I try to save the money I earn.
Her life in Nigeria was terrible. So she migrated to Ghana with hopes of securing a better life for her 8-year-old daughter, Lamisi.
However, for seven months now, she still has no accommodation and so begs to make ends meet.
These beggars noted that times are hard for them because they say kindness is fading in society.
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