Women scavenging for valuables in garbage dump to feed their homes

LAGOS — In the bustling markets of Lagos, a shocking sight has become an all-too-familiar reality. Groups of married women and mothers, once proud and self-sufficient, are now forced to rummage through discarded remnants of the day’s market activities

Their hands, once gentle and nurturing, now dig through rotting food and filth, driven by the desperation to feed their families.

The downward spiral of these women’s lives was triggered by a combination of devastating factors. For some, it was the sudden loss of their husband’s job, which shattered their financial stability. Others were crippled by illnesses that ravaged their savings, leaving them vulnerable to the whims of fate. Yet, others lost their bread winners to the unexpected — premature death, terminal illnesses, and the like. And for the rest of the populace, the relentless rise in the cost of living proved to be the final push, sending them tumbling over the edge into a desperate struggle for survival.

At first glance, they may be mistaken for lunatics, reveling in the squalor for some twisted thrill. But the truth is far more painful. These women are not scavenging for pleasure; they are fighting for survival. The harsh economic realities have left them with no other choice but to seek solace in the dumps of cast-off fruits and vegetables from the market.

This heart-wrenching scene unfolds under the cover of darkness. Their mission is to scavenge for survival, searching for anything edible amidst the rotting vegetables and trash to feed their starving families. The odour of rotting waste hangs heavy in the air, yet these women press on, undeterred by the overwhelming stench. Rather, their determination is ignited by the gnawing pangs of hunger and the unbearable thought of their children going to bed on empty bellies.

Scavenging in disguise

Some of them at Jakande Gate market, Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, would often meet any intruder’s gaze with a piercing stare, their expressions a clear warning to mind one’s own business. In a city like Lagos, where anonymity reigns and everyone fights for survival, these women have learned to be guarded and secretive.

To further conceal their identities, they would wrap their scarves around their faces, covering themselves up to the neck, rendering them almost unrecognisable as they go about their daily struggles to scavenge for food in trash bags, usually kept on the median for onward collection by Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA.

From Jakande market, to Ikotun, Ijegun, Isolo, Oshodi, down to Igando and the Junction market at Iyana-Iba, the sorry sight of these women is the same. They sort through the trash, their hands moving with practised ease, separating the rotten from the salvageable. They fill their bags with perished peppers, spoilt potatoes, and yams, the spoilt produce carefully selected for its potential to be redeemed.

As the night wears on, these women disappear into the shadows, their bags filled with the discarded produce of a society that seems to have forgotten them. They return to their homes, where they will transform these discarded remnants into meals that will sustain their families.