A 45-year-old Gambian man has shared his heartbreak after his wife left him due to poverty, leaving him struggling to survive.

Omar Sanyang, the eldest son in his family, now works at the Abuko animal market, earning barely enough to get by.

“I am living with heavy stress because my wife abandoned me due to poverty. I took it in good faith, but some people don’t understand the situation one is in,” he said, his voice trembling and eyes filled with tears.

Omar, who lives in Wellingara, now sleeps under a veranda while sharing his meagre daily earnings with his family.

“I am from a poor background, and I am the eldest of my father’s children. But I still sleep under a veranda because I have no house,” he explained.

The rainy season has made life even harder for him, as his father’s house leaks heavily. He wishes to repair the roof but cannot afford new corrugated sheets.

“It breaks my heart when it rains because I feel sorry for my father,” he said.

With the cost of living soaring and prices of basic goods skyrocketing, Omar says he has lost hope for the future — a situation he believes drives many Gambian youths to risk their lives migrating to Europe via the perilous “backway.”

“This country is very hard. There is no hope. And this is why people are risking their lives on the backway,” he added.

He also complained of harassment faced by low-income earners and called on the authorities to allow them to work and support their families without undue pressure.