Daniel

Meet Daniel

17 year old Daniel lives in El Salvador with his older sister, who is also his legal guardian. His sister runs a small business making and selling tortillas. After school, Daniel helps deliver them around the neighbourhood. Speaking about his sister and home life, Daniel shares;

"My sister is my role model; she’s a fighter. Sometimes she feels down, but she supports us. She’s like my mum; she’s like my second mum.

On a typical day, I come home from school, get changed and start delivering tortillas through the alleyways; I walk there. We’ve been running my sister’s business for years now. It makes me feel good to be able to contribute at home because we live together."

changes in the community

Daniel has seen significant changes in his community during his lifetime. Areas that once felt unsafe are now places where children can play more freely and families can access local services. He shares;

"The community has changed quite a lot. Before, there was a turf war; you couldn’t go out. Sometimes we’d be outside and everyone would start fighting, so we’d all have to go back inside. Before, I couldn’t go to the sports ground, nor could we go to the local market; we couldn’t visit it at all, all because of the criminal gangs. We have a health centre and we couldn’t go there either; we had to go somewhere else. Now we can go out anywhere. The children feel safer; the neighbours come out to look after them."

Reflecting on what he would change if he had the opportunity, he continues;

"I’d improve the parks, the sports pitches and the green spaces that aren’t being used for children – for those who like to play, whether it’s basketball or football. It would be really helpful because in the future they could become players and spend more time with their families."

Pictured below: (L) Daniel's older sister makes tortillas. (R) Daniel plays with his nephew and nieces.

Life without a birth certificate

For many years, Daniel did not have a birth certificate. This affected many areas of his life. Reflecting on this time, he shares;

"I couldn’t find a solution to problems I couldn’t get out of - we’d go out to certain places and we had to identify ourselves. As I couldn’t, that limited me. They’d ask me why I didn’t have my birth certificate (the authorities, soldiers and police) and I’d tell them it was being processed. We’d go out to certain places and I couldn’t play in the football teams because I didn’t have my birth certificate and I wanted to play.

I felt bad, because I couldn’t go out with my schoolmates and the friends I used to play football with."

Daniel shares his thoughts on the difficulties he and other young people face without their birth certificate;

"There are many. Some aren’t allowed to go to school because they don’t have their birth certificate, or they have problems because they don’t have it. For example, in my case, I stopped taking part in lots of activities because I didn’t have my birth certificate - like school trips.

I felt really bad; it’s not the same when you don’t have your birth certificate, and when you’re a teenager, the soldiers want to question you and you have no way of identifying yourself. They get confused because they think you’re from somewhere else and they mistake you for someone else. Here, young people get stopped quite a lot, which is why I had to get my ID card; they asked for it to check I was properly identified. Before, when I didn’t have a birth certificate, they thought I was on the run; they’d just ask me questions, but there was never any physical abuse."

Pictured below: Daniel shows his ID card.

A pathway to registration

Daniel's sister first learned about Toybox's local partner, Viva, while visiting the town hall to complete other paperwork.

She recalls;

"We were sorting out some paperwork at the town hall and saw a poster stuck up there. For me, it was a blessing to see it because I didn’t even know where to start the process to help my brother and my children. I saw the number, got in touch with the foundation, and from then on they supported me."

With support from Viva, Daniel and other members of his family were able to obtain birth certificates.

Reflecting on the experience, his sister shares;

"My life has changed since we got our birth certificates. It was chaos leaving the hospital with the baby, taking them to medical appointments, I didn’t have a birth certificate. Now that’s no longer a problem. Throughout the process, I felt very supported from start to finish - they never left me on my own. Things have changed a lot in my family. At the school where they study now, their names and surnames are correct. I can go out to sort out various formalities and take them with me. As a mother and sister, I feel happy because it used to be difficult to explain things."

looking to the future

Having both a birth certificate and an ID card has made a significant difference to Daniel's life.

"Now that I have my birth certificate, I can study and play football with my friends without any worries. It’s changed the atmosphere at school. They don’t ask me any questions anymore. When the authorities come by and want to question me, I can now prove my identity, which I couldn’t do before. Before, they used to mistake me for someone else, thinking I was a criminal or on the run from something, but now that I have my birth certificate and my ID card, they don’t ask me any questions and let me go in peace.I feel more at ease because they don’t ask me lots of questions anymore; they used to put pressure on, thinking all sorts of things. Now they just ask, ‘Do you have your ID card?'"

Today, Daniel is in his first year of secondary school. With the support of his sister and the opportunities that come with having legal identity documents, Daniel is now able to focus on his studies and his plans for the future. He concludes;

"As soon as I fnish my studies, I want to join a workshop and start learning car mechanics."

Pictured below Daniel and his family celebrate thier right to identity.