A 21-year-old mother of triplets, Alimatu Ibrahim Sadia, is living in extreme hardship on the streets of Accra after allegedly being abandoned by the father of her children and left without any meaningful family or social protection.
Originally from Tamale in Ghanaâs Northern Region, Alimatu currently lives with her three young children in a makeshift shelter within a slum community near the Agbogbloshie Yam Market in Accra, where survival is a daily struggle marked by hunger, uncertainty, and vulnerability.
With no stable income and no support system, the young mother survives by begging on the streets of Accra to feed her one-year-six-month-old triplets.
âI beg people for money so I can buy food for my children,â she told Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG), her voice reflecting exhaustion and despair.
According to her account, the father of the children, identified as Sulemana Baba, a small-scale farmer, has failed to provide any financial or emotional support since the birth of the children. She further alleges that no assistance has come from his family.
Alimatu also describes a complete breakdown of family support. Her mother is deceased, while her father reportedly lives far away with his new wife, leaving her entirely alone in the care of three infants.
As a result, she bears the full weight of survivalâstruggling daily to secure food, shelter, and basic care for her children in an environment that offers little protection for vulnerable women and children.
When asked whether she is able to feed her children consistently, her response was painfully brief: âJust a little.â
Despite these harsh realities, Alimatu remains determined to survive for the sake of her children. Having never had access to formal education, she says what she needs most is not only emergency relief, but an opportunity to rebuild her life through sustainable support.
She is appealing for assistance to start a small business that would allow her to earn a stable income and restore dignity to her familyâs survival.
âI need help so I can do something to take care of my children,â she said.
Her story reflects the broader human rights concerns affecting many vulnerable young women who migrate from northern Ghana to urban centres like Accra in search of opportunity, only to become trapped in cycles of poverty, abandonment, and social exclusion.
It also highlights the lived realities of women associated with the kayayo/kayayei migration phenomenon and other informal urban survival conditions, where access to social protection remains extremely limited.
Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG) believes Alimatuâs situation is not just a personal tragedy, but a reflection of systemic gaps in social protection, gender vulnerability, and child welfare support.
The organisation is therefore calling on government institutions, social welfare agencies, NGOs, philanthropists, faith-based organisations, and corporate bodies to urgently intervene.
Such support may include immediate humanitarian assistance such as food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare, as well as long-term interventions including educational support for her children and vocational training or startup capital to empower the young mother toward self-reliance.
Without timely intervention, HRRG warns, vulnerable women like Alimatu and their children remain at constant risk of deepening poverty and lifelong deprivation.
For Alimatu, every day remains a fight for survivalâbut also a fragile hope that someone, somewhere, will respond before it is too late.
Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG)
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