Blind Zim beggars try their luck in SA

Dozens of blind beggars from Zimbabwe have crossed the crocodile infested Limpopo River in search of greener pastures in South Africa. Leaving the economic woes of their country behind them, they stand at street intersections, traffic lights and road pavements begging for money and food. But their only source of income is now threatened as the South African city authorities intensify efforts to remove them from the streets.

Forty-year-old Lorcadia Dewa was a well known blind beggar on the streets of Mwenezi town in Masvingo Province, Southern Zimbabwe. But when the economy took a nosedive in 2008 rendering Zimbabwean coins and notes valueless, she decided to make a fresh start in South Africa.

Risky and illegal
"I had no passport, so l paid some men who helped me cross the crocodile infested Limpopo River to enter South Africa through holes in the fence separating the two countries," says Dewa.

She is one of dozens of other blind beggars from Zimbabwe who have also crossed the border into South Africa. Most of them end up in Johannesburg where they are commonly seen at traffic lights begging for money and food.

Like other blind beggars from Zimbabwe, Dewa wakes up early in the morning to stand at traffic lights with her guide. When cars stop they swiftly jump into the road and signal for help at every window â€" often clapping whenever coins are dropped into their begging cup. "On a bad day we get nothing, but we usually get between 3 and 10 EUR a day," says Dewa.

However, she insists that the money she makes is not enough for her needs, "My guide wants 50 percent of whatever we make in a day and I'm paying school fees for my two children learning in Zimbabwe."
 
Clamping down
But the blind beggars are starting to become a nuisance for the city authorities. They are accused of obstructing traffic and endangering lives when they move across traffic lanes begging from one car to another. Johannesburg Metro police and social workers usually round them up and remove them from road intersections.

Dewa complains that begging is her only source of income: "At one time they detained us for the whole day. How do they expect us to survive since we are not entitled to disability grants which are given to locals who are blind like us?"

The beggars who use their children as guides are also bitter that the city of Johannesburg sometimes take their children away from them and place them into care. But the city authorities argue that the children are suffering abuse as they are denied the opportunity to go to school.

New survival tactics
Dewa is now searching for new ways to survive. She has now teamed up with her blind friend Philominah Hlomayi and others to form their organisation called the International Federation of People living with Albinism and Blindness.

"We appeal for donations so that we can find accommodation for blind people and help them to start income generating projects. We want to start projects like sewing, knitting, welding and a music group for the blind but we have no resources," says Hlomayi.

Their dream is to see blind people from Zimbabwe living a normal life and no longer depending on the mercy of well wishers.