How a family of 4 survive on GH¢9 a day in Accra

Ghana's economic crisis continues to impede the well-being of citizens, particularly the less fortunate. The rich now have to cut back expenses to mitigate the effect of current hardships. But the poor barely have enough to take care of their basic needs. Due to the consistent rise in inflation, one needs to double or triple the amount needed for a commodity that originally didn't require much. Previously GH¢10 could fetch you a decent meal or at least afford you two square meals. Today, the only thing GH¢10 can afford is airtime, Hausa koko just to mention but few. For 28-year-old Salamatu Ahmed, it is beyond comprehension how she and her three children survive on GH¢9 in the current economy. Imagine a family of 4 surviving on GH¢9 a day, an amount that barely allows an individual to purchase a sumptuous meal. That is the reality of Salamatu Ahmed, a pure water hawker. Abandoned by the father of her children, 28-year-old Salamatu Ahmed took up the role of the breadwinner to provide for her family. The single mother of 3 who was ditched by her husband over 2 years ago, has taken to the streets of Accra to make ends meet by selling sachet water. As early as 5am, Salamatu is awake to prepare her children for school so she can adequately prepare herself for the day's struggles. In a poor and small community of about 50 people at Alogboshie, Salamatu and her 3 children i.e. 8 years old Majid, 4 years old Samira and 2 years old Lad reside in a kiosk, as Salamatu does not earn much to provide decent accommodation for them. She has been surviving on selling sachet water for about a year now. Just like Salamatu Ahmed, many other women go through the struggles of acquiring their daily bread through hawking on the streets. Street hawking is considered one of the riskiest kinds of trading activity in the world. Over the years, the streets of Accra have witnessed several fruitless encounters between the city authorities and these hawkers. Although several policies like the Hawkers Empowerment Program, MASLOC and the recently passed by-law, thus, the 2011 Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Street hawking by-law have been designed to provide a solution to this problem, it still holds. Thus, the hawkers are seen on the streets again as soon as the police and city authorities stop pressuring them to stay away. Narrating her ordeal to The Independent Ghana, Salamatu disclosed how it all began for her. "The father of my children left us when my last born was just a month old. "I then moved with my children from where we were staying to this kiosk, where I was introduced to a woman who helped me start the pure water business,” Salamatu explained. Unable to afford a deep freezer, Salamatu has to opt for a more affordable way of getting her water and drinks chilled. She walks several kilometers to buy "ice blocks" and then heads to her supplier's house to cool her water. She sells on the Achimota, ABC stretch. She further described how dangerous it is, especially with the alarming rate at which accidents occur on that road. “Selling in traffic is risky, there are times I have witnessed a car hit some of the hawkers and it is scary but you have no option but to move on. "On countless occasions, motorists knock down some of the sellers and in extreme cases, some of them die,” Salamatu lamented. Salamatu explained how it is a challenge as she single-handedly takes care of her three kids with the minuscule amount she makes on a daily basis. According to her, on a good market day, she makes at most GH¢100 at the end of the day. She says it's as a result of the drinks she adds to the pure water. But with only the sachet of water she makes as low as GH¢9 a day. She attributed most of her low sales to the weather conditions, explaining that we are in the rainy season and people do not patronize water often. “At first I could sell 5 bags of water in a day but now due to the weather, I can only sell 1 or 2 bags. "In a day when I include drinks to the water, I am able to make like a GH₵100 but without the drinks I can make as low as GH¢9” Salamatu explained She added that she spends GH₵30 on her children daily, out of which GH₵18 is for the canteen food the school requires i.e. GH¢6 per child. The rest of it caters for their breakfast and supper because she gets home late. "Days that I don't make much, I don't let them go to school,” she added. Having faced so many challenges just to survive, she states that what motivates her is her love for her children “Providing for my kids is my priority, that's why despite the challenges I go through every day l continue to sell pure water.” Salamatu Ahmed is however appealing to the government to come to their aid, to help create jobs for them that will enable them to leave the streets. “It is not our wish to be on the street selling but the hardship we go through and the difficulty in taking care of our kids is what compels us to do that but if the Government can provide some jobs for us, that will take us from the street we will really appreciate it.