Choosing work over alms begging amidst disability
Neptune Prime paid a visit to the individuals living with disability, who have the potential to live beyond their disabilities, make giant strides, do business and record achievements as opposed to those who are able-bodied, yet chose to beg or stay idle.
Life for a person living with a disability can be quite a tussle, especially in societies where there is an absence of inclusion in many facets. This, in most cases, has led them to settle for less dignifying means of livelihood, especially alms begging.
In Nigeria, it is often believed that the traditional way a person living with a disability can acquire money is through alms given to them by people they know, or strangers on the road or street. Most times, living with a disability is usually seen as a ticket to begging.
This visit was inspired by viral videos trending online, where beggars who had been pretending for years to be living with disability were exposed as they had no disability of any sort, but they chose to beg as means of livelihood.
Paradoxically, we met a handicapped person by the roadside, and instead of the conventional begging, this man was selling socks and caps on his handicapped bike. This was indeed inspiring and impressive.
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From our discussions, Neptune Prime got to know that they have an Association, where all of them, though living with one disability or the other, are doing some sort of business that suits whatever disability they may be living with. It’s named association of self-reliant handicapped.
What is more fascinating is that they use to gather money weekly basis to help set up businesses for other handicapped who are still begging on the road. With this, every week we have additional self-reliant handicapped through savings raised by them.
We hope this will help inspire other persons living with a disability that have resorted to begging as means of livelihood to know that they can do better and earn a living through dignified means rather than begging.
This is also a wake-up call for the able-bodied persons who decided to disparage themselves as beggars in the street.
Let us all support and encourage these persons living with disability by patronizing their businesses, wherever and whenever we see them.
Aisha Musa Auyo
Neptunerpime TV
Abuja
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