“Now I have my ID documents like the other children in my school and I feel happy.” Anaya, 9
Born on the streets in her home country of Bolivia, Anaya’s mother abandoned her when she was only one month old, leaving her in the care of her grandmother. Alongside her maternal grandmother and sisters, Anaya sells sweets on the streets, as well as collecting plastics for recycling, which are bought by the kilo. She explains, "It makes me sad when we don't sell much and can't buy much food to eat."
Anaya was not registered at birth, she continues, "It was difficult for many years without my identity documents. I didn't understand why I didn't have my birth certificate, then they explained to me that my mother didn't want to register me because she wanted my father to recognise me first so that he could give me family assistance but we never heard anything from him."
Around four years ago, Toybox local partner Alalay became aware of Anaya's situation and she started to attend some of the project activities. Here she has the opportunity to play with other children, away from the dangers of the street, as well as learning about her rights. "Before I started coming to the project we had no place to play - we had no notebooks, books or colouring pencils."
Before she was registered, Anaya faced an impossible challenge to get an education. "I felt sad because without my identity documents I could not be enrolled in school, I only went to school as a listener and could not pass to the next grade. They did not give me school breakfast and when we got sick we couldn't go to the doctor or hospital."
Once Alalay identified Anaya as needing support, it took almost three years to obtain the necessary paperwork required for her to obtain her identity documents. Thankfully the team's efforts and determination paid off, enabling Anaya to imagine a different future. She concludes, "Now I have my ID documents I am happy because I can be enrolled in school! I want to study to be a lawyer, because I want to help all children to have identity documents like me."
To learn more about Toybox's birth registration work, visit www.toybox.org.uk/birth-registration
