‘Vagrants’ Want Better Lives

Two homeless teenage truck pushers, Prince Kyei and Kamarudeen Mohammed, who ply their ‘business’ within the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (AshMA) in the Greater Accra Region are appealing for support to further their education.

According to them, working under the scorching sun and the assaults they suffer in the hands of intolerant citizens and law enforcement agencies indicate that the ‘work’ does not guarantee a good future.

The duo spoke to a CCF monitoring team on Monday, 6^th December 2021.

The monitoring forms part of the implementation of CCF’s “Decriminalizing Vagrancy Laws and Advocacy” project, supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).

Kyei and Mohammed who have completed their Basic Education since 2017said they have been pushing trucks at the Ashaiman main Market due to financial difficulties.

Kyei who scored aggregate 21, said he puts up with a poor Auntie, while Kamarudeen sleeps on the streets.

They indicated that they pay One Ghana cedi daily as toll to AshMA.

The poor young men said the toll does not immune them from physical and emotional assaults they receive in the course of doing their job either because their trucks caused harm to someone or due to the violation of AshMA bye-laws.

Their Request

The duo said they hardly save enough from ‘their street hustle’ and therefore funding their education has been difficult.

The monitoring team observed that the two boys live in filth with serious health concerns. Moreover, their level of education does not enable them understand and make use of available opportunities.

Speaking to the team, both truck pushers indicated that if they are able to further their education or learn a skill, it would mark the beginning of a sustainable future for them.

“We wish to leave the streets and do something better with our lives but we do not have any support. We are therefore appealing to individuals and organizations to support us to further our education or learn a trade,” they pleaded.

About OSIWA:

Established in 2000, OSIWA is a grant making and advocacy organization focused on equality, justice, democratic governance, human rights and knowledge generation. It is part of the global network of Open Society Foundations spread across 37 countries around the world.  

By Cosmos Akorli and Rudolph Nandi

Source: crimecheckghana