Abstract:
This paper is a result of the study conducted with the objective of examining street beggars and
begging life in Dodoma and Singida Municipalities in Central Tanzania. The current paper
examined the feelings of street beggars on begging life and their survival livelihoods in urban
areas of central Tanzania. This study employed a cross-sectional research design. The population
of the study consisted of street beggars and non-street beggars, municipal officials, councilors,
business people and community members. This was done for triangulating and enriching data that
were collected from street beggars. The study found that most of sampled beggars felt very bad
towards begging life and saw begging activity as an immoral conduct. Street beggars obtained
their basic necessities from different sources. Furthermore, it was found that begging flourishes
because community tends to be generous to beggars. The study recommends that awareness
programmes need to be conducted for the poor so as to help them realize how shameful begging
is. Step towards banning, or discourage begging should be welcome. Families where beggars
come from should be made aware of taking fore responsibility of taking care of their family
members who are beggars.
