“On the street we suffered from the cold, sun, heat, and rain. People also discriminated against us.”
At just 13 years old, Anabel (pictured above) has spent much of her life navigating the challenges of street life. Unregistered at birth, she accompanied her mother and siblings selling sweets on the busy streets, while her stepfather cleaned the windscreens of passing cars. The family often stayed out until midnight, before returning to the small room they called home.
Life on the streets was unforgiving. “I didn’t like it when people in their vehicles told me they didn’t want me to clean their windscreen and made me feel bad,” Anabel recalls. She endured constant discrimination and harsh physical conditions. “On the street we suffered from the cold, sun, heat, and rain. People also discriminated against us. Sometimes I fought with other local children because they humiliated me. When I cleaned windscreens, I was afraid of falling and getting hit by cars.”
Anabel’s circumstances began to change when our local partner in Bolivia, Alalay, met her family during an outreach activity in the Spring of 2023. They discovered that neither Anabel nor her family members had identity documents, a barrier that kept them from accessing education, healthcare, and other vital services. The team initially supported Anabel’s mother in obtaining her ID documents, a crucial first step that ultimately paved the way for Anabel and her siblings to then get theirs. In July 2023, Anabel received her birth certificate. “It was a very exciting day when I got my birth certificate and then went to get my identity card,” she shares.
Anabel’s registration is already opening doors that were once firmly shut. “Before I felt sad because I didn't have identity papers. I couldn't study, and I couldn't go to a health centre,” she explains. Now, in her spare time she enjoys participating in many of the project’s recreational activities and learns crafts like handbag-making.
Pictured below: Anabel enjoying recreational activities at the project.
Over the past year Anabel has also started her education, earning praise from her teacher for her progress. “I like to study, although it's a bit difficult for me. Now I have my ID documents it means I can now go wherever I want, that I can study or travel with my parents,” she says proudly. Her ambitions are just as inspiring: “I want to study to become a lawyer and help others who do not have identity documents. I want to have my own house.” Anabel’s mother, now equipped with her own identity papers, has secured work as a fruit salad vendor in a bustling market. Meanwhile, Anabel balances her studies with helping care for her younger siblings, embracing a brighter future filled with possibilities.
Pictured below: Anabel studying (L) Anabel with her birth certificate (R).
