Begging in the City: Complexities, Degree of Organization, and Embedded Risks

Abstract

Until recently and despite its familiarity, begging in Ghanaian cities had been considered worthy of little attention. Despite the best efforts of a few academics to highlight the motives of beggars, critical analysis of the begging phenomenon within the spectrum of urban livelihood remains embryonic. This article unpacks the complexities, degree of organization, and embedded risks in street begging involving children in Kumasi, Ghana. The article draws on empirical evidence from 55 conveniently selected child beggars from five heavily congested locations and presents extensive review of existing scholarships on the phenomenon. The results reveal that child beggars adopt varied operational strategies to woo public sympathy. Begging strategies are mapped by adult escort who also counts the money as it is made. For many, begging has increasingly become a socially and economically constituted process that mediates how they deal with poverty and livelihood challenges. The beggars are also daily exposed to risky encounters but without any protection. We argue that stopping the phenomenon will require innovative approaches that go beyond conventional legislations.