How women scavengers make wealth from wastes

Determined to make a living a good number of local women in the Lemmna community near Calabar metropolis are now making fortunes from scavenging from a massive and popular dump site in the community. The Lemmna dump site covers a vast land of about five Olympic sized football fields. It is reported that bad gangs, hemp smokers, even armed robbers have turned it into their comfortable homes.

One of the scavengers, Madam Philomena Elemi from Abi local government area of Cross River State said she makes good money from picking wastes, including empty cartons, plastic bottles and other condemned items for sale. “I make good money.  I cannot work for salary at this stage,” she told our source. Philo, as she is popularly called, said she is a widow with nine children and has been working or scavenging from the dump site for more than 10 years.

It was not easy to get her to speak because of apparent fear, she even refused for her picture to be taken.  There is very strict rule against reporters visiting the site let alone interview workers. Philo claimed that there are 30 widows  and other married  women who are coming into the site even as there are men, and young people of questionable characters who loiter around the area. She said, like her, most scavengers at the site have been there for several years, and are not particularly worried of the terrible stench, hazardous atmosphere and general health risks associated with the mountainous diets and decomposing bodies of animals and even humans. She said they are very much used to the stench, flies, and hazards posed by the wastes, adding that every job has its own risks.

 Philo like other women and workers at the site kit themselves with rain boots,  overalls and face masks for protection. “For me, I have never slept in a hospital as a result of working here. I take good medical care of myself every day when I close from here. “I am a widow. I have nine children.  I prefer this job here. It is better than engaging in prostitution, begging for alms or engaging in illegal works. At least, I make good money from here to sponsor my children at various schools. I am their father, I am their mother. Some of them do come here to help me out. “There are many women like me here. Many are widows like me. We all pick up useful items here which we sell at, say N5 or N10 or such amount to buyers who come here and are willing to pay. Many of us sustain themselves from these wastes”, Philo said. Another scavenger, Rita, who said she is 22 years, told our source that she joined others when she could not afford her school fees and was forced to drop out.

A youth leader in the community, Festus Ben, speaking on reported activities of some criminal elements around the site said they have reports that such undesirable elements have once or twice launched out from the site but that they were equal to them. Police PRO, Irene Igbo said they have not received any reports about criminal activities at the site. An official of the state Ministry of Environment, who gave his name as Mr John, said there was an attempt by the state government to move the site to Awi in Akamkpa LGA. The official said Governor Ben Ayade has visited the site no fewer than two times and had told them that he would send experts who would recycle the entire wastes.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Peter Egba showed this reporter an ongoing building at the sprawling Ayade Industrial Park which he said is  for the recycling of wastes from  Lemma and other sites. “We do not want to recycle the wastes at Lemma to avoid the impact of the stench circulation.  We will evacuate the wastes to the new recycling plant which we are building at the industrial estate.  Government wants to turn the whole wastes into wealth for the state,” Egba said.