Would Shelters In Nigeria Make a Difference to the Community?

Many of the beggars in Nigeria are professional beggars. They have wives and children and live surprisingly well.

shelters provide a refuge for the homeless in the soceity.
Up to hundreds of millions of men, women and children are without a home each year worldwide.
In our country some churches and Non- governmental organisations have been known for their
giving back to the communitiy by providing shelters and soup kitchens for the poor.

I doubt if due to shelters the beggars would get off the streets, highly unlikely but not impossible.
The Government should be involved in providing the basics of life - Education, Power, Housing, Hospitals, etc.

One way to help the homeless is to donate used or new clothing, and other unused items one has to a shelter.

the "real" beggars have psychiatric problems or are mad, there is another set like seun mentioned professional beggers who just beg because it's easy, then those lazy and useless able-bodied men on Lagos Island (Alaye) who beg you for money or threathen to destroy your car.


Some People enjoy prostitution/stripping for the easy money it brings, I bet you would call it degrading too. All the person has to do is kill that fear of shame and they do what they do.

It depends - I believe in "Give a man a fish and he will come back for more but show a man how to fish and he won't return after that day (abi na so them dey talk am?)"

Some people, as a very wise man once told me don't need help.  U provide the shelter and they end up over-staying, to the detriment of those who really need the help.  Besides, and I know Seun will love to hear this , if government decides to get into the biz of providing homeless shelters, what is next and how many could they possibly build?  To me it's the equivalent of someone who decides to start a buffet biz in naija - the person would be setting themselves up for failure.

What wd I do instead?  Thanks for asking  - I would provide the shelter but inmates would only stay under the condition of getting a job after a given period.  Of course, I would be actively involved in making sure they get a job via necessary training, setting up and inviting companies to say, a job fair, etc.

It's a double-edged sword folks - damned if you do and damned if you don't.  That being said, it is govt's (and I know Seun will turn around and hate me for this ) to cater to its citizenry.  After all, where there is no form of hope for those who need it, restlessness and anarchy usually set in.  The govt wd certainly not want that

Zebudaya

Any rich man who goes to buffet has some problems.  It is for the masses, not the guy who can afford to eat at the finest restaurants.  At least thatz how i c it.  I am aware of the buffets in naija, but based on location: are those the only places in naija?  Based on price: who are you trying to cater to - the top echelon or the many people "at the bottom" whose combined biz could indeed overtake that of the people it is aimed for?  Tis the concept of "The Long Tail" which is a biz concept that is picking up steam these days.

I get ur point o, don't get me wrong, but it is high time certain biz catered to "the common man" there.  Aren't they the real Nigerians?

You guys are diverting this topic to Buffets in Nigeria. if you want to know more please create a new thread. 

Ta

It costs 200 for rice and stew at the buka, it costs 5000 to eat at my buffet all you can eat, how would the collection of the common man beat the rich?

The food at my buffet would be healthy. Grilled chicken instead of  fried, roasted meat instead of fried, oil with the latest saturated fat etc. It wont be artery clogging.
Nobody can go to the buffet everyday without getting bored.


my2cents please post the link to the buffet thread so we can carry our wahala there and leave twinkledew alone

we don't have as many homeless people as there are in the US,

to really talk about this then we have to differentiate between homeless and beggars these are two separate things


99% of beggars in Nigeria are not homeless they may not have decent accomodation but that's life accomodation is what you can afford.

whereas being homeless doesn't mean you don't have a job or are not earning income, in our society you are probably homeless because you ran away from home, or you moved to another state where you have no relatives that can squat you. people in this position can't afford accomodation of anytime so they sleep on the streets, in front of shops,under bridges and some churches

its the latter that woould benefit from shelters, but like everywhere in the world there will be cheaters who will see 'awoof' move out of their accomodation and get into a shelter

so shelters would work despite cheaters because you don't throw out the baby with the bath water

Mad people don't need shelters.  They need Psychiatric hospitals where they can be treated by experts.