Beggars Corporation turns beggars into entrepreneurs

Begging is a common scene on the busy roads of many cities in India. To put an end to begging is not as easy as one thinks.

Aiming to improve the lives of beggars, a social enterprise came forward differently. Beggars Corporation, a Varanasi-based NGO, wants to transform the lives of beggars by improving their skills and making them entrepreneurs.

Chandra Mishra, a philanthropist from Varanasi, set up Beggars Corporation in January 2021. He says that rather than rehabilitating them through donations, his NGO aims to transform them into entrepreneurs. Making them realize the importance of labour only can help them live a dignified life. Beggars Corporation help them achieve this.

Mishra, a convener of Common Man Trust, says that charity does not help them become rich, but investments can do that, which create wealth. That’s why this NGO has been set up.

Initially, beggars were reluctant to change. Mishra convinced them to work by lending some money to make products and sell in the market. He requests the government to help in the marketing of products manufactured by beggars.

So far, 55 beggars from 12 families formed a self-help group and turned into entrepreneurs by improving their skills. They are making various types of bags like laptop bags, conference bags, paper bags, and cloth bags to be supplied to many hotels and multinational companies in Varanasi.

Mishra says that he realized that West Bengal has the highest number of beggars followed by Uttar Pradesh. In Varanasi alone, there are more than 12,000 beggars; out of them, 6,000 are healthy people. As per some sources, Indians donate around ₹35,00 crores per annum to beggars. If this amount is invested properly, it will create wealth and improve their standard of life.

Beggars Corporation initiated a project on a pilot basis, and it was successful. The NGO wants to design more such projects, aiming to eliminate begging completely in Varanasi by 2023.

Image Credit: Chandra Mishra on Twitter

Image Reference: https://twitter.com/employonomics/status/1470270200138264578/