67 year old widow, Esi Naana has been starving as her clothes mending (alterations) business has become unbeneficial for her to rely on for her upkeep therefore making her depend on the benevolence of her neighbors.
In an interaction with crimecheckghana, Maame Esi said she has given up on going out to work because patronage for her service has fallen as she barely makes One Ghana Cedi a day when she goes out to do her clothes mending business. She said when she does not get gifts from her neighbors, she would have to take food on credit from one of her neighbor’s or sleep on an empty stomach.
“My neighbors have been feeding me because of the sympathy they have for me as an old woman. Even this morning when I was still not awake, one of the women sent her daughter to bring me a bag of rice. I have cooked some of the rice but I cannot eat it because I do not have money to buy ingredients to prepare stew. I had to go to a neighbor’s shop to take a bottle of coke and a biscuit on credit and that is what I have had as food for the day.” She narrated.
The pale looking mother of seven said her children have abandoned her as the last time she heard from her oldest child was twelve years ago and the younger ones have also not been supportive. She said due to financial difficulties she is unable to rent a suitable room so she had to go in for a cheap wooden structure which she still struggles to pay for. “I do not know the whereabouts of my first child because since he left me for the past twelve years I have not heard from her. Those in Accra do not care about me and rarely send me money so I cannot rely on them for my survival. If not for the empathy and respect my landlord has for me due to my old age, he would have ejected me from the room because I owe him 3 years rent.” She said.
Crime Check Foundation, CCF through its donors gave the poor woman a Bible, food items including bags of rice, cooking oil, tomato paste and canned fish in addition to an amount of One Thousand Five Hundred Ghana Cedis for her upkeep.
Aunty Esi showed her appreciation to CCF and its donors. “God bless you abundantly and make you great. May God grant you long life and restore in double-fold what you have donated for me.” She prayed.
The Foundation is appealing to generous individuals to support the poor old widow to get a sustainable source of income to enable her rent a comfortable room to live.
The gesture forms part of CCF’s Charity Series which is used to solicit support for starving individuals and families to improve their living conditions.
