There is a need to take note of how people are surviving in The Gambia today.
Earnings of the vast majority of people could no longer maintain people who are without families not to mention those who have families. This is precisely the reason remittances from the diaspora have been sustained for decades.
Other than remittances there is a tendency for many people to depend on family members and neighbours on a daily basis to beg for food. The lack of a welfare system aimed at providing assistance to those in need imposes the burden of supporting vulnerable groups to other family members and neighbours. It is difficult for such people to have three square meals daily. Those who could afford the meals are also losing their grip because of the large-scale number of dependences.
There is a need for a national conversation on what is to be done to address growing poverty and dependency in the country.
