Begging among Physically Healthy Adults in Addis Ababa? Commonness and Daily Income

Abstract

Beggary is taking a new dimension recently. It is being considered as a
profitable business. Those who are physically fit enough and able to take on formal
economic activities are joining the field. This study explored how common begging is
among physically healthy adult beggars and their daily income in three sub-cities of
Addis Ababa. Qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire, interview, and
focus group discussion from 23 purposely selected physically healthy adult beggars.
Three key-informants from Labor and Social Affairs Bureau of Addis Ababa City
Government and 12 randomly selected non-beggars were also included. Thematically
analyzed data revealed that the number of physically healthy adult beggars is increasing
and that begging is becoming a common way of earning a living. The findings also
indicated that beggars earned far better daily income than many other government
employees. The researcher recommends that, to stop or minimize begging, internal
migration needs to be controlled and alms givers have to discriminate between healthy
and other beggars.