“I feel protected, I can show who I am or what my name is by showing my certificate.”
Siblings Isabel 11, Elias 10, and Rosa 8, live near La Paz in Bolivia. The siblings’ lives have been defined by hardship. Following the imprisonment of their father and the death of their mother, the siblings were left without a place to live. This led them to start working on the streets to earn money for food and somewhere to stay.
Working On The Streets
The siblings took on different types of work. Isabel walked the streets selling sweets and food. Elias sold educational pamphlets and sweets. And Rosa was a kitchen assistant at a food stall, where she worked peeling potatoes in the afternoon.
The siblings are deeply aware of how dangerous working on the streets can be. Rosa and Isabel share the biggest dangers of being on the streets:
“I might get kidnapped. The dark streets. People get drunk and are aggressive, looking for fights.” - Rosa
“Some big people (adults) hurting us. The dangers of the street, being mistreated, beaten. You suffer hunger and cold. People insult you and discriminate against you.” - Isabel
Pictured below: Elias (L) and Rosa (R) playing on a swing set.
Meeting Alalay
Isabel describes what taking part in Toybox’s Alalay project meant:
“We couldn’t get medical attention because we didn’t have documents, we couldn’t be enrolled in school.
As we were children who were not living with our parents, my mum had died and my dad is in prison, so the Children’s Ombudsman’s Office took us to a temporary shelter and from there, with the support of the Ombudsman’s Office and the Alalay educators, we processed our birth certificates and identity cards. We didn’t have our parents’ birth certificates, so the process took almost a year.
We attended recreational activities and received food/snacks, and sometimes it was the only good food we had during the week. Then they helped us to obtain my duplicate birth certificate and for the first time the birth certificate of my siblings Elias and Rosa.”
For Rosa, the best part of coming to Alalay’s project was: “That there was food that we played games to learn, that we had quiet and happy moments that we shared with other children. We didn’t have to worry about anything, we were protected and we had food.”
The Effects Of A Birth Certificate
The siblings were asked how they felt after getting their birth certificates:
“We felt excitement! And relief to know that we finally had identity documents. We would have liked to show it to my mum. It is important and feels good to see my name written on a document. Having a birth certificate means that I now have my name and that I can also go to school and to the doctor.” - Rosa
“I feel protected, I can show who I am or what my name is by showing my certificate or my identity card. The three of us were able to enrol in school, and this year we are already attending school.” - Isabel
Pictured below: Isabel with her ID card and birth certificate.
Remarkable Changes
Life has changed for the siblings since they joined the project. Before participating in the project, Elias only interacted with his sisters. He has now improved his communication skills and is confident having conversations with his peers and adults. Elias and Rosa have also discovered their creativity – they like painting, drawing and crocheting stuffed animals.
Pictured below: Elias (L) and Rosa (R) showing their schoolwork.
An Alalay team member described the changes they had seen in the siblings, “At the beginning of the project Elias was underweight and slightly malnourished because of not eating properly due to his vulnerable situation. His health has improved, and he is now at an adequate weight for his age and height.
Rosa was malnourished and showed defiant behaviour. Now she is calmer, she already knows how to read and write and now participates in some dance events, as well as painting and crocheting stuffed animals.
Isabel retains her protective spirit towards her younger siblings, she feels a sense of responsibility for them.”
Now with their birth certificates in hand, the siblings have the essential access to healthcare and education that will help them secure a future where they can flourish.
Pictured below: Elias (L), Rosa (C), and Isabel (R) laughing on a bench.
