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URL https://doi.org/10.14989/158998
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Textversion publisher
Kyoto University
African Study Monographs, 33 (2): 133-143, June 2012 133
ABSTRACT 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.
Key Words: Street beggars; Poverty; Urban problem; Dodoma; Singida; Tanzania.
INTRODUCTION
STUDY LOCATION
Dodoma and Singida Municipalities were selected as case studies because they
are large urban areas in Central Tanzania. Although poverty is said to be less
acute in the urban areas of Tanzania, it is still a serious problem, especially in
urban areas other than Dar es Salaam. The highest incidences of poverty in Tan-
zania are found in the regions of Rukwa, Kigoma, Dodoma, Mtwara, and Sin-
gida. These regions are either remote (Rukwa, Kigoma, & Mtwara), semi-arid
(Dodoma & Singida), or both. From a biophysical perspective, the semi-arid areas
are associated not only with low and erratic rainfall but also with poor soils and
degraded environments in many areas. On the socio-economic front, large por-
tions of these areas have minimal infrastructure, which impedes people’s access
to markets, health and educational facilities, safe water resources, etc. (Morris et
al., 2001). This situation subjects people to poverty and in turn can lead com-
munity members to adopt alternative strategies for survival, such as rural–urban
migration and street begging.
Based on the 2002 National Population and Housing Census, the population of
Categories of Street Beggars and Factors Influencing Street Begging 135
Dodoma was 324,347, including 157,469 males and 166,878 females. The popula-
tion of Singida Municipality was 114,853, of whom 55,509 were males and 59,344
were females (DMC, 2008; SMC, 2008). The Central Zone’s economy depends
entirely on crop and livestock production. Agriculture is still characterized by low
productivity. Although livestock production is still largely a subsistence enterprise,
the Central Zone is one of the principal livestock-producing areas in the country
(DMC, 2008; SMC, 2008). In Dodoma Municipality, the predominant ethnic group
is Gogo. Other major tribes include Rangi and a tongue-clicking ethnic group of
Sandawe, which only comprises a small percentage of the Municipal population.
The predominant ethnic group in Singida Municipality is the Nyaturu. Other tribes
include the Nyiramba, Chagga, Nyamwezi, and others. Both Christians and Mus-
lims have strongholds of their faiths in these areas (DMC, 2008; SMC, 2008).
METHODOLOGY
A cross-sectional research design was applied in this study. This design allows
data to be collected from the target population at a single point in time. The
population of the study consisted of street beggars and non-beggars, such as
municipal officials, councilors, business people, and community members. Groups
of non-street beggars were included to help triangulate and enrich the data col-
lected from street beggars.
To meet the objectives of this study, both primary and secondary data were
used. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires, focus-group
discussions (FGDs), key-informant interviews, and observations. These techniques
sought, inter alia, to understand issues concerning categories of street beggars and
factors associated with street begging from the perspectives of both street beggars
and non-beggars.
Primary data were collected from 130 street beggars, who were found in pub-
lic areas begging for alms, using convenience or accidental sampling methods.
Given that street beggars keep moving from one place to another, it would have
been very difficult to prepare a sampling framework that would have allowed
the selection of desired samples using random sampling. Instead, interviewee
selection was based on accessibility or availability on the streets. Street beggars
were selected from a very wide variety of public spaces in order to ensure good
representativeness.
Data were also collected from FGDs and key-informant interviews. Purposive
sampling was used to collect data from 30 key informants. These included key
informants from municipal authorities (such as Councilors, Street Chairpersons,
Street Executive Officers in Swahili Street commonly known as Mtaa, Ward
Executive Officers, Social Welfare Officers, Planning Officers, and Community
Development Officers) and from the community (both street beggars and non-
beggars). During the FGDs, small gifts, such as food and drinks, were offered to
attract beggars and to compensate them for the valuable time spent during inter-
views. The focus groups were stratified into adult men, adult women, and youths.
Each group consisted of five members from the study municipal authorities and
136 B.M.L. NAMWATA et al.
The results and discussions of the findings of this study are presented in four
sub-sections: categories of street beggars, street begging strategies, reactions of
passers-by to beggars, and factors influencing street begging in Central Tanzania.
The term “street beggars” is defined in this study as individuals, including chil-
dren, elderly people, people with disabilities, and families, who normally beg or
make their living from the streets or public spaces such as shopping areas,
churches, and mosques by asking people for money and food. Adugna (2006)
held the view that street beggars have generally been categorized in terms of
their abilities and disabilities based on how they make their living from the streets.
There were also individuals who did not show any externally observable defor-
mities or disabilities. The present study, however, attempted to categorize street
beggars in Central Tanzania into four groups based on where they slept after beg-
ging hours, contact with or ties to their families, i.e., whether they had abandoned
or were abandoned by their families either permanently or temporarily, and whether
they were born or raised in the streets. Table 1 shows the categories of street
beggars in Central Tanzania.
Municipality Total
Category of street beggars Dodoma (N = 80) Singida (N = 50) (N = 130)
% (N) % (N) % (N)
Beggars on the streets 68.8 (55) 76.0 (38) 71.5 (93)
Beggars of the streets 21.3 (17) 14.0 (7) 18.5 (24)
Beggars in the streets 8.8 (7) 10.0 (5) 9.2 (12)
Beggars of street families 1.3 (1) Nil 0.8 (1)
Total 100.0 (80) 100.0 (50) 100.0 (130)
The majority of the beggars on the street came from poor families and therefore
had to resort to begging as the primary means of obtaining a livelihood.
In the context of this study, street begging or gathering alms is defined as the
solicitation of a voluntary gift, most often money or food, in public places. FGDs
revealed that street beggars used various begging strategies to make a living for
themselves and their families. These techniques included portraying themselves as
sick or as lacking bus fare to a village; pretending to be blind, deaf, or crippled;
sending children into the street to beg (both children and parents as beggars); sit-
ting in strategic places such as banks, hotels, churches, temples, mosques, or bars;
entering offices with a medical referral letter; presenting a supporting letter for
soliciting scholarly necessities either by children or parents; or claiming to have
financial difficult. Below are key informants’ narrations in relation to common
begging strategies:
I always mediate clashes between that old man outside there when other
beggars come and try to sit on that veranda. The old man has dominated
that place; he does not allow anyone to beg from there. What I usually do
is to give alms to the intruding beggar to leave the place. It happens con-
stantly.
Through observations, it was found that some street beggars beg from passersby
or pedestrians by stretching their arms out and speaking phrases like “Buy me food
(ninunulie chakula);” “Give me alms (naomba msaada);” “Give me money for
shelter or medication (nisaidie kwa ajili ya malazi au matibabu);” etc. Sympathiz-
ers usually respond by saying either “I have nothing (sina kitu)” or “Let God help
you (Mungu akubariki).” When responding to beggars’ demands, most passersby
use phrases like “I have nothing to offer you (sina kitu cha kukupa);” “Come later
(njoo baadae);” or “Go away from here (ondoka hapa),” just to make beggars
move away from them. In some instances, street beggars experience aggressive and
unkind responses from passersby, although this situation has not discouraged them
from begging activities.
On the other hand, the FGDs revealed that although some passersby are harsh
sometimes, others seem to be generous and sympathetic to beggars. Individuals
who seemed to be generous and sympathetic to beggars were potential alms-givers,
in contrast to individuals who acted harshly. Older people were more generous and
sympathetic than were youths. However, street beggars varied in their success in
drawing the attention of passersby. More attention was given to beggars with phys-
ical disabilities and to elderly individuals than to young and able beggars. Similar
findings were reported by Adugna (2006) when studying livelihoods and survival
strategies among migrant children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
During FGDs, it was reported that begging was perceived as being done by
people who were not capable of working to provide for themselves for a variety
of reasons, including poverty, physical disability, etc. One FGD member in Dodoma
Municipality remarked that:
Surprisingly, today, the trend has changed as some energetic persons, instead
of working to care for themselves, now see begging as the most convenient
and surest way of making money because of laziness. Many people know
they can survive from begging. People decide to be lazy waiting to reap
hard-earned money from others.
Municipality Total
Factor (s) for begging Dodoma (N = 80) Singida (N = 50) (N = 130)
% (N) % (N) % (N)
Poverty 35.0 (28) 64.0 (32) 46.2 (60)
Physical disability or challenges 45.0 (36) 12.0 (6) 31.5 (41)
Death of both parents (orphanhood) 7.5 (6) 8.0 (4) 7.7 (10)
Family disintegration 3.8 (3) 6.0 (3) 4.6 (6)
Old age 1.3 (1) 8.0 (4) 3.8 (5)
Convinced by friends or peer influence 3.8 (3) Nil 2.3 (3)
Unemployment 2.5 (2) Nil 1.5 (2)
Lack of caring relatives Nil 2.0 (1) 0.8 (1)
Medical illness 1.3 (1) Nil 0.8 (1)
Total 100.0 (80) 100.0 (50) 100.0 (130)
Categories of Street Beggars and Factors Influencing Street Begging 141
Our father died when we were young. My mum had given birth to six of
us. I am the second-last child. Our mother could not afford to meet our
family’s basic needs such as food, paraffin, and clothes. Our relatives did
not care about our welfare. That is why my two brothers and I have cho-
sen begging as a way to support our family!
Finally, the sampled beggars held the view that unemployment compels some
people into begging for survival. This explanation was endorsed by a small per-
centage (1.5%) of the sampled street beggars who reported that street begging was
the result of unemployment (Table 2). This was only mentioned by respondents
from Dodoma Municipality. Likewise, municipal officials reported that widespread
unemployment was one of the causes of street begging. Some beggars moved
142 B.M.L. NAMWATA et al.
from one office to another asking for help. Their numbers increase when employ-
ment opportunities become scarce. However, not all those who beg lack other
means of survival; some people have simply found begging to be a good means
of earning a living.
The findings of this study show that there are four categories of street beggars
in Central Tanzania: beggars on the street, beggars of the streets, beggars in the
streets, and beggars of street families. The study found that street beggars used
various begging strategies, including disguising themselves to appear sick; pretend-
ing to be blind, deaf, or crippled; sending children into the street to beg; sitting
in strategic places; moving into offices with medical referral letters; etc. Passersby
seemed to be generous and sympathetic to beggars, although some people were
harsh to beggars. The study found that the factors that cause people to become
street beggars and the phenomenon of begging are diverse and multifaceted. Pov-
erty influences begging to a large extent in all of the studied municipalities. Other
factors included unemployment, physical challenges, death of both parents, and
family disintegration.
To address the problem of street beggars and begging activities in Central Tan-
zania, we provide the following recommendations:
REFERENCES
Adedibu, A.A.1989. Begging and poverty in third world cities: A case study of Ilorin, Nigeria.
Ilorin Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 1: 25–40.
Adedibu, A.A. & M.O. Jelili 2011. Package for controlling street begging and rehabilitating
beggars and the physically challenged in Nigeria: Paper for policy consideration. Global
Categories of Street Beggars and Factors Influencing Street Begging 143
Corresponding Author’s Name and Address: Baltazar M.L. NAMWATA, Institute of Rural
Development Planning (IRDP), P.O.Box 138, Dodoma, TANZANIA.
E-mail: bnamwata [at] irdp.ac.tz or bnamwata [at] gmail.com