By Helena Selby
It is the dream of every rational individual to have a three square meal everyday whether one went through strive to obtain it or not. In order to survive there is the need to always be on good diet and also have a standard of living which one will not be considered as being in poverty. Though food for the stomach is necessary, it is very pathetic that not everyone has the likelihood of getting food for the stomach. In the developing and under developing countries especially where wars are very persistent the source of feeding is very difficult to find. It is important for every individual to work in order to get a source of income for ones daily continued existence.
How is the World’s Standard of Living like?
Sometimes countries without the means to access food end up in starvation leading to the death of many of its citizen especially women and children. According to inquiries made 25,000 lives are lost everyday from hunger and poverty. Sometimes a bad case, diarrhea lead to death because of weakness caused by hunger. More than 800 million people know what it feels like to go to bed hungry which most of them are women and children. Due to the need for food for the system always, no enough food malnutrition causes more than half of all child deaths. Poverty has caused poor families to spend over 70% of their income on food where as an average American family spend just over 10%. Additionally more than 100 million children are stunted physically and mentally from malnutrition.
The research continue that families trying to survive in such extreme poverty must often go without the food they need and must make agonizing choices between adequately feeding their children or buying medicine when they are sick or sending them to school. A billion malnourished people mostly women and children are losing their health and lives, their potential for prosperity, and their hope for a better future.
In Ghana, due to the economic hardship experienced by many of the citizen, acquiring good diet and decent clothing is very hard. According to research, though people are in poverty in many parts of the country, the upper east, upper west and the northern region are believed to be the poorest in the country. Considering the recent flood which took place in those regions, the incidence of poverty has risen more than expected. Owing to their over reliance on their farm products and farming being the main occupation in the region the incident of the flood gave them a very big blow. Habitats have to wait for aid from NGO’s and governmental agencies in order for them to have a daily bread.
Despite the fact that they have to go through hunger, they also have to go through a period of displacement where they have no where to live. They have to spend their night in classrooms and in the morning leave for students to have their normal classes.
Poverty can erupt in so many ways either through natural disaster, joblessness or economic hardship. Which ever way it may erupt, the point is that they are all very below the average standard of living. Many of these people spend most of their time hunting for jobs as a way of searching for greener pastures for their various lives.
How do people cope with the situation?
In many parts of Ghana people resort in indulging themselves into businesses more often than not selling especially on the streets since the white colour jobs are generally very hard to find. One might think these people selling on the streets are illiterates, however it must be put in mind that majority have experienced what it is like to go through school but come out not getting what they really expected after their schooling.
Due to the changes in the situations of live people end up on the street trying hard to sell in other to fend for themselves and their families especially if they happen to be the bread winners of their families. Typically thing normally sold are edibles, this is because it has been noted that whenever people are stack in traffic for a very long they get hungry and thirsty so they take the opportunity to sell to them what they have.
In an interview with some of these sellers, they complained about the work being extremely hectic especially when the sun is awfully scotching. They for a while get sick because of the high sun rays hence have to spend part of their income on drugs to cure themselves. Above all these unpleasant things they go through, the pathetic thing is that getting passengers or people around who are interested in their item is very difficult so have to go back home with most of their items not being bought.
Why this Choice of Selling or Hawking?
No one wishes to end up on the street selling petty items which at the end of the day would not earn him or her enough to even settle the utility bill of the home. People due to certain circumstances are forced in a business they have no pleasure in. According to some of these sellers, they prefer to sell on the street to get a source of income than to beg for alms on the street or always seek for help from relatives. Some of them also complained that they often get more of their items sold where traffic is really jammed but when they road are traffic free passengers hardly buy their items and even sometimes take their money away when the drivers is really in a hurry.
Despite the fact that they are trying to find means to fend for themselves, their activities seems to be a torn in a flesh for people who sell in the mall. Sellers in the mall complain that due to the presence of these sellers on the streets buyers feel reluctant to enter the mall since they can get the same product on nearby streets.
Owing to the reason that the roads are always congested the Accra Municipal Assembly (AMA) do not want them to be there since it is sometimes a sort of nuisance and unpleasant to visitors in the country and exposes them to many risks. Though AMA always chase them off the roads and cease most of their items, sellers and hawkers come back after some few days. Their presence on the streets makes difficult the passage of vehicles and pedestrians to the extent that it sometimes create traffic on the roads.
However though this manner of selling seems obscure people indulged in this give the reason that, they do not have enough money to secure a place in the mall. According to them it is very expensive to obtain a shed to sell. For plantain chips seller, she complained that the amount collected could even be enough to serve as a capital for a new business but unfortunate she does not have that amount of money. She continued that if only the government could reduce the price to favour all sellers then they will with
Pleasure leave the street in order not to stress the AMA and also make way for vehicles and pedestrian.
It is surprising that sellers in the mall also sometimes come to the street to sell, giving the explanation that the presence of those on the street prevent buyers from entering the mall, so they have resorted in coming to the street to sell as well.
Are there any consequences of selling on the street?
Most often due to the difficulty in getting buyers to buy ones items and the hectic moment one goes through before selling all items, one tries to sell through the hard way. These sellers more often stand in the middle of the roads, between vehicles in order to deliver quickly their item people in vehicles who would like to buy. Not long ago it was reported by the Daily Guide newspaper that some sellers on the street of Dansoman aged between 25 years and 30 years were run over by a 207 Mercedes Benz car. These men were run over as a result of the driver losing control over the brakes and were killed at an instance. Nevertheless sellers give a blind eye to the fact that they selling on the street leave their lives at risk.
Occasionally owing to the fact that these entire seller really want to get all their items sold, there is argument as to whom to sell to the passengers when they are called at a random. Argument among themselves normally does not end there but continues in terrible fight which eventually lands in the police station with most of their items destroyed. The pitiable thing is that not only are they going spend money to heal their injured bodies but also make money available to get themselves bail from cell hence resulting into they spending more than they earn.
With the above mentioned consequences aside, there is also high also a high tendency of pick pockets increasing in the system. Crowdie busy market places are generally the habitat of pickpockets. They study carefully and take advantage on the less vigilant ones and rob them off their money. According to Araba Quainoo a sugar cane seller, she was once robbed off her sale for the day so went home empty handed.
Conclusion
It is of a truth that we need one need a source of income for survival but care must be taken in order nit to put ones live at risk since the life of every one is of great importance to those around him and nation as a whole.
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