Let's not engage children in begging

Story: Matilda Attram

It is a sorry sight to see some children below the age of 10 assisting elderly people to beg for alms at various traffic intersections on the streets of Accra.
Out of curiosity, this reporter once asked a young boy who was helping an adult to beg for alms at the Holy Spirit Cathedral traffic intersection whether he would not go to school. He just stared at her and walked away, but another one told her that he was on the afternoon shift.
Some of the children, made up of refugees from the Sahelian countries, walk dangerously on the streets and approach drivers whose cars stop at the traffic lights for money, while their parents sit under trees by the roadside directing them.
Some people interviewed on the issue told the Daily Graphic that they were always forced to give money to the children, even if they had very little on them.
Sandra Ofori, a student at the University of Ghana, said she gave money to the children any time she passed through the Kwame Nkrumah Circle since she had pity on them.
However, she said, some children pestered and followed her when she was unable to give them some money.
“The parents of these kids direct them to harass people for money, while they sit under trees doing nothing. I sometimes give them money because I like kids and don’t want to see them go hungry. However, they sometimes go to the extreme and attack you as if you work for them and sometimes insult you if you don’t give them anything,” she said.
Another person, Ernest Sekyere, said he got very angry any time the ‘children beggars’ got closer to him because he perceived their parents to be lazy.
He said he formerly gave out money to them but stopped doing so, since he realised that they were sent by able-bodied people who could work to fend for themselves and their children.
“ I used to give them money any time I passed by. The economy these days is not good. The parents can carry loads for people and get paid because we can’t always feed them this way. And any time you try pulling the kids away, their parents find the need to follow you.”
A mother of set of twins, who was seen begging for alms on the pavements at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, complained that she was doing so because she had no one to help her take care of her children after the death of her husband.
“It is not my intention to beg for alms but I have to do so since I don’t have a job and money to take care of the children. My husband died two years ago without any property. My children and I have to sleep in front of shops in the night and come here early morning to seek for help from the public,” she said.
She, therefore, pleaded with the government and the public to come to her aid because she wanted her children to be educated.
The Director for International Desk (Children) of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOW), Mrs Marilyn Amponsah Annan, conceded that the use of children to beg for alms was a serious offence as it was a serious form of child labour.
She explained that the rights of children were abused if they were denied any form of education or vocational training and forced to work in an environment that put the life of the child at risk and endangered his or her health.
Mrs Annan explained that some of the parents of such children had turned begging into business.
“They believe begging is an easier way of getting money than working, but it is very wrong. Parents must not give up when they go through tough situations. They must have some confidence in themselves and push hard to enable them take care of their families,” she said.
Reacting to the situation of the refugees, she admitted the act was wrong since the government had established camps with schools as well as provided social safety nets and poverty alleviation programme for feeding them.