Paper short abstract:

Analyzing narratives of people with disability in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this presentation addresses what the gap between their virtual unemployment and their concept of a “job” actually means.

Paper long abstract:

In many African countries, it is quite hopeless for the people with physical disability (PWDs) to be employed in the formal sector—in Tanzania, less than 3% of PWDs manage their livelihood by a form of employment, according to an estimate given by the national survey in 2008. Given that Tanzania lacks a universal welfare system, most PWDs earn their livelihood in an informal way. However, such economic activities have been almost invisible in literature on urban employment behind the larger fraction of unemployed urban population, the youth, except a few (Toda 2014, Whyte and Muyinda 2007).

In this presentation, I analyze narratives of PWDs in Dar es Salaam, the busiest city in Tanzania, who are engaged in sorts of "informal" economic activities, such as begging, street vending, singing as a musician, and carpentering that they call their "job", so that we can shed light on their attitudes towards the "job". The narratives that I have collected in fieldwork are concerned with their feelings about their "job", their intimate persons with whom the PWDs sometimes share a small amount of cash, food or something else, and unemployment. It is interesting to note that, overall, they are interested in the outcome—if it meets the obligation of their family and relatives—and their narratives sound as if they do have a humble "job" which they are proud of. In conclusion, I will address what the gap between the virtual unemployment and their concept of a "job" actually means.