This is a gambling business called “Pick 6”.  They take this lottery like a diamond.  Everybody just wants to get rich quickly.  Some of our people have taken this like a guarantee.  The poor people play this game, hoping to find money for their children’s school fees.  But not all people win.  They can play for months and not win ANYTHING!  So this man who works in this kiosk sells tickets for 500 le (20 cents).

This is the post office.  They sell African magazines out front.  When you want to read about different countries, you can go there.  

This is the time when there was no petrol fuel in the country.  People suffered and could not buy fuel.  They suffered because they wanted to raise the prices even more.  At that time the people began to strike and fight at the petrol stations.  Then the owner of the station was telling them that he himself bought the fuel at a very expensive price, and he could not sell it for less.  Many people began to complain because our country is so corrupt.  

I took this photograph during “Operation Free Flow”.  The poor people were selling their goods in the streets and blocking traffic.  So the police decided to clear them all out.  The police broke the vendor's kiosks and scattered their wares on the streets.  These people in the picture are trying to transfer one of the bookseller's kiosks so that the police don't destroy it.  It is illegal to sell from these types of kiosks, but the people have no other way to make money. The government is trying to take advantage of the poor people, who are really straining.  This picture is taken in front of the Youth Center where Lighthouse meets.  I used to sleep in this kiosk because I had no place to go.