Transforming lives of beggars

Mirzaganj is a small village in Uttar Pradesh. Many youths move to bigger cities with the hope of a better future. Sharad Patel, at the age of 16, a farmer's son, too boarded train to Lucknow for higher studies and a secure job. He noticed the pathetic conditions of beggars near the railway stations, outside hotels and hospitals. He was bothered to see many of them as drug addicts, bare bodies begging for food and money etc. He felt like doing something for them. So, he decided to make them self-reliant and help them to live a dignified life.

During his graduation days, he used to board bus from Charbagh bus stop of Lucknow. During the whole journey, he was quite curious to watch people and his surroundings as it was a new experience for him. On the way, there was a Hanuman temple where he would regularly see beggars sitting on the divider with eyes full of hopes. For him, it was a completely different sight as compared to his own village where seeing somebody beg was a rare sight. Everyday, images of those beggars started haunting him & he started having sleepless nights making his determination stronger and stronger. After graduating, he decided to study in detail about this issue by enrolling himself into Masters in social work course. His family was shocked hearing about his decision, however, realizing that he was determined to work for the needy, his elder brother supported him to pursue his passion. His life changing incident happened in Lucknow, when he was pursuing his post-graduation, a beggar asked him for money. He thought only money is not going to be a real help, so he bought kachoris (snacks) to feed the beggar. This gave him immense pleasure as he was able to bring a smile to someone’s face. This incident gave him an idea of feeding the beggars for free, however, he soon realised, this would not really make their stomach full for some time. Sharad, “I thought that feeding beggars in a long run isn’t going to be an easy task for an individual. I had to find a permanent solution to solve this crisis. I thought that there is a need to make them skilled which would subsequently help them getting employment.”

It was important to have a background check about the problem before getting it on the ground. With this thought he started by living with them, spending his days and nights begging along with them. This was an eye opening & a very powerful experience for him as he could deeply empathize with their plights. Soon, in 2014-15 he carried out a socio-economic study on beggars so that he could share his data and findings with media & other stakeholders. His study found out that around 4,500 beggars live on the footpath.

key findings of the socio economic study are as follows:

·      In terms of education, 67% respondents were uneducated.

·      38% respondents felt that they were compelled to live on the road, while only 31% respondents lived in a hut.

·      The average daily income of respondents was between 50-100 rupees.

·      90% respondents were addicted to drugs.

·      100% of respondents were not aware of the schemes being run by the government for rehabilitation.

·      98% of respondents believed that if they were not begging for a living, they could be rehabilitated and live in mainstream society.

“Unfortunately, these beggars had no skills to grab any job. There were few educated beggars too who were unable to secure a job due to their poor health."

The report is evident enough to give a glimpse about the sad state of beggars in Lucknow and in other parts of the world. The report points out about their poor educational background. Majority of them belong to poor families and have started begging with no other option in hand. We interact with beggars to understand their background and reason for them taking up beggary. Initially it is challenging to get any information from them but over a period of time, after building a relationship of trust they start sharing about their family. Most of them had issues in their personal lives which is why they chose to flee and relocate to Lucknow to try their luck and start life afresh. Few manage to get work in the beginning but this does not continue for long also due to poor educational background they do not get any good jobs which forces them to start begging. The children of beggars are also found to do begging along with adults as children are expected to get more money from people out of pity and emotion, secondly there is no way they are able to feed their children. Hence, the next generation is also dragged into begging.

Beginning Of Sharad’s Movement

When Sharad started his work, his friends and relatives warned him that it was an impossible task and that he would not be able to finish what he has begun. Few of them stated discouraging words and mocked him but nothing seemed to alter his determination. “The day arrived, it was October 2, 2014, when I launched a campaign called Bhikshavratti Mukti Abhiyan, i.e. ‘Begging-Free Movement’ to make these people self-independent ,” he stated.He had already tasted life of a beggar during which he had already built trust and comfort among the beggars and asked them to co-operate because it was meant for them only.

He started his initiative by helping them access to food by providing them ration cards under PDS scheme. But it was not an easy task for him as he had to fight very hard with the authorities and convinced them to provide ration cards to over 100 beggars without address proof, which is usually mandatory. He visited authorities many times, no one was ready to listen to him. He experienced the misery and helplessness of beggars which they face everyday. Instead of breaking him, this whole thing made him more strong and straight headed. This was his first step to develop a sense of faith among the beggars, and the community started approaching Sharad for their cards. After Sharad’s commendable efforts, beggars were now ready to bring a new change in their lives, but this mission was not possible without proper funds. Also, he had a vision of bringing a positive, tangible and replicable model that could be used by others and benefit half million beggars of India. So, he registered for an NGO ‘Badlaav’ in 2015.

It was found by Sharad and his team that majority of them are migrants who come from different parts of UP. Younger ones come to seek job opportunities while the elder ones come after facing the wrath of crop failure. “We found that most of the beggars apart from drug addiction also suffer from diseases like Tuberculosis, cancer, and asthma. We have till now treated more than 325 people yet sadly lost 11 people.” Due to his constant efforts, today 209 beggars have left begging and started working in different areas. He is also taking support from the beggars who are now self-dependent, to help other beggars. They also spread awareness through street plays and other creative mediums.

Beggars do not have access to basic human needs such as food, shelter and clothes. They are compelled to sleep on streets or footpaths. In his initiative, the very first priority was to provide them their basic needs without compromising or making them feel inferior. To provide all this, Sharad started a shelter home called the 'Happy home' where he is providing better life and opportunity for these beggars to transform themselves. The 'Happy Home' is a safe haven for these beggars who want to lead a better life and earn with dignity.

The beggars have been through a lot of mental and physical sufferings. They complain of uneasiness, pain and depression. To overcome this, they become habitual of consuming alcohol and drugs. Whatever petty amount they get from begging is spent in buying all these toxic items leaving them no money for food, clothes and medicines. There are times when they fall sick of meet with accidents but they do not have the courage to visit a government hospital due to cold and discriminatory attitude of doctors and hospital staff. This prolonged negligence and indulgence results in their health to deteriorate more and more. Body check up is done in the rehabilitation centre and their medical file is maintained. In case of major illness they are referred to government hospitals for diagnosis. To overcome drug addiction, they are given counseling sessions and later sent to de addiction centre. On a daily basis yoga and meditation are conducted of beneficiaries. All these will be helpful in gaining a healthy body and mind.

They are dependent solely on begging for earning money and making their ends meet. Nobody gives them any work as they do not look presentable or reliable. Livelihood is very important to help them get out of the vicious circle of beggary. "With my efforts, I link them with micro businesses such as tea stall, fruit & vegetable stall, toys stall etc. They are able to earn atleast 6-10,000 rupees monthly. So, providing them livelihood for a dignified living is what I want to provide them with".

They also lack basic identity proofs such as aadhar card in whose absence they fail to get any work or linkage with government schemes. Few of them possess voter cards but rarely they cast their votes as they are least interested and are not aware about politics or government. With liasioning with different government departments, these people have got their identity cards and also taking benefits of some government schemes.

Sharad has been successful in making his dream a reality, however there is one huge challenge which is making him helpless in continue his initiative. He needs funds to keep the momentum going and influence more lives. Your help will enable beggars to give up begging and lead a dignified life. Your contribution can help transform an individual who is not only socially centred, aware of his constitutional and human rights but also economically solvent contributing to the local economy.

Please visit our website to know more about our work- https://badlavindia.org/

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