Beggars agree to get off Gulu streets
There will soon be no more beggars on the streets of Gulu if they adhere to their unanimous decision to leave the streets to find alternative means of survival. The beggars made the decision yesterday at a meeting in Gulu town with the staff of Peko Rwede Peke, a local community-based organisation.
By Gillian Lamunu
There will soon be no more beggars on the streets of Gulu if they adhere to their unanimous decision to leave the streets to find alternative means of survival. The beggars made the decision yesterday at a meeting in Gulu town with the staff of Peko Rwede Peke, a local community-based organisation.
The organisation aims at helping the beggars to leave the streets and get rehabilitated in their homes. Victoria Ladoo, 70, a resident of Aywee, noted that she lost her five children in an inferno in the 1990s. “If I had someone to help me, I would not be looking for help from strangers,†she said.
Ladoo added that since the institution had come up to help them, “any beggar who will be harassed on the streets should not blame anybodyâ€.
Terija Labwori, a resident of Layibi Techo, said although she has relatives who are well off, they are reluctant to give her assistance. “I am crippled but I have been digging all my life. I only started begging when I lost my sight,†she explained.
Dickson Okumu, 52, called on the organisation to provide the beggars with food, saying most of them are pushed to the street because they are too weak to work.
He expressed disappointment with some organisations which create little impact in their lives. “I do not work, so feeding is my biggest problem. When my relatives brought me to town during the insurgency, they went back to the village and left me behind but I do not wish to beg again from now. It is embarrassing,†Okumu said.
Many of the beggars, however, preferred to be referred to as vulnerable persons. The organisation’s coordinator, Robert Oringa, said they have decided to lobby for funds, adding that they have so far registered 25 beggars in the past two weeks.
Gulu municipal secretary for works and finance Vincent Onono said there was a rising number of beggars in Gulu town, noting that in the villages, people do not give them money, so they move to towns.
There will soon be no more beggars on the streets of Gulu if they adhere to their unanimous decision to leave the streets to find alternative means of survival. The beggars made the decision yesterday at a meeting in Gulu town with the staff of Peko Rwede Peke, a local community-based organisation.
The organisation aims at helping the beggars to leave the streets and get rehabilitated in their homes. Victoria Ladoo, 70, a resident of Aywee, noted that she lost her five children in an inferno in the 1990s. “If I had someone to help me, I would not be looking for help from strangers,†she said.
Ladoo added that since the institution had come up to help them, “any beggar who will be harassed on the streets should not blame anybodyâ€.
Terija Labwori, a resident of Layibi Techo, said although she has relatives who are well off, they are reluctant to give her assistance. “I am crippled but I have been digging all my life. I only started begging when I lost my sight,†she explained.
Dickson Okumu, 52, called on the organisation to provide the beggars with food, saying most of them are pushed to the street because they are too weak to work.
He expressed disappointment with some organisations which create little impact in their lives. “I do not work, so feeding is my biggest problem. When my relatives brought me to town during the insurgency, they went back to the village and left me behind but I do not wish to beg again from now. It is embarrassing,†Okumu said.
Many of the beggars, however, preferred to be referred to as vulnerable persons. The organisation’s coordinator, Robert Oringa, said they have decided to lobby for funds, adding that they have so far registered 25 beggars in the past two weeks.
Gulu municipal secretary for works and finance Vincent Onono said there was a rising number of beggars in Gulu town, noting that in the villages, people do not give them money, so they move to towns.