The Beggar Community

Beggar at the sidewalk of Makati City.

Recently I was walking in the streets of Makati and saw some beggars (along Makati Medical, Dela Rosa St.). The beggars look like they came from the province; my suspicion is that they were natives. I saw in their paper cups (were the passerby put coins) that their earnings were not so decent. I asked myself if this begging phenomenon is due to laziness or is it something that needs government intervention. 

There is a theory that I associate with begging, that is, lack of nutrition and education could result in the begging phenomenon. Even though if the person is at the age to work and has the physical capability, if his brain does not function well due to lack of nutrition or food, the person will have difficulty of finding a solution to his or her problem, which in this case finding a job. Also, hot temperature in the Philippines which drains the energy of the beggars in the side-walk adds to the problem.

Begging results to the poverty cycle; even though the beggar earns by begging money, it doesn’t uplift the standard of living of the person. The beggar earns some amount of money to buy a small amount of food and the next day he is in the street to ask for alms again, the cycle continues and it never ends. There is only one solution I see, and that is for the government to intervene by feeding and providing livelihood education to these people. 

The begging phenomenon is not only present in the streets; it is also present in the neighborhoods and slums. This should be addressed strategically since this has been a problem of the country in the past decades. If poor people have poor nutrition, how could you expect them to think of a right solution, if the normal homes in the subdivisions feel the heat of the sun, how much more are the homes of those in the slums? The climate and lack of nutrition in poor families result in inescapable poverty – because food and shelter are two of the most important basic needs for development.