Messi

Messi is just like many other 10-year-old boys around the world, entertaining, cheerful and brave. Unlike others however, he and his family depend on the streets of La Paz to survive. For three years, he has helped his mum to sell sweets to passers-by, trying to earn enough money to be able to buy the basic necessities for him, his mother and his five other siblings.

Both Messi’s parents grew up on the streets when they were children. They fell in love and started their family. For a while, they lived in a room in a house that belonged to his father's family, but life was hard. His dad suffers from a complicated health condition meaning that he couldn’t work and would often beat Messi’s mother and the children. One day, when they spoke up about his father’s abuse, the family didn’t want to hear any of it and threw Messi, his mum and his siblings out onto the streets.

“We are currently living on the street, as the sale of sweets is not enough to cover the rent and the security deposit that the landlords ask for in order to rent a room fulltime. We work hard to sell sweets and candy to cover all our daily needs, like food, nappies for my little brother, milk and rent for a night's lodging so we don't have to stay on the street, cold and afraid. The hardest part of being on the street is the weather. We get a lot of cold and rain. Plus, having only one meal a day or not eating anything all day - or eating leftovers from other people's meals is hard. People treat you badly because you are badly dressed or dirty, and don’t buy the sweets you are selling. Sometimes we go into restaurants to sell sweets and I always want the food that people are eating.” Messi

Messi and his family want to improve their living situation. One day, they want to save enough money to be able to rent a room and cover the guarantee that the landlords ask for. It is difficult for them as a large family, because the daily sales are only enough to cover their daily needs without saving, but they don’t lose hope that if they all sell more, together they will be able to make it.

On top of this, as well as struggling to earn enough money to rent a room, the family never had their birth certificates to serve as the necessary identification to secure a long-term home. Messi describes how he felt without his birth certificate and some of the challenges the family faced.

“I lived in fear with my siblings when there were controls in the street by the Children’s Services and the police – we were afraid that they would separate us from our mother. Nobody would let us into accommodation so that we could stay overnight because my mother was asked for our identity documents. We looked for many places until they let us stat overnight – my mother had to beg the people who looked after us in the accommodation. We also lost benefits that the government gave us during the pandemic and I couldn’t register for school because I didn’t have identity documents."

“[Getting my birth certificate] was difficult because, due to our situation of not living in a house or a room, we lost our original documents (certificate of live birth, vaccination cards) and we could not process our documents because we did not meet the requirements. But, with the support of Alalay, we processed the identity documents for me and my siblings!” Messi

Now, he is very excited that thanks to the identity documents he and his siblings have obtained, he no longer lives in fear of being separated from his mother in the controls carried out by the government’s children’s office and the police. The family can more easily access night shelters to rest and not feel the cold of the streets.

“I feel happy, I feel calm. I no longer live in fear when there are checks by Children’s Services and the police. I was so afraid that they would separate us from my mother. My mum has proof that we are her children and that we are all one family – at the checkpoints, they don’t think that mum stole us or that we are not her children. And I will be able to go to school next year! I want to join a football school and be a professional football player like Messi, and to have a car and a house!”

To hear Reverend Richard Coles tell Messi's story, please tune into our Radio 4 Appeal on Sunday 27th November at 07.54am and 21.25pm. Or listen via the BBC website here. To find out more about our appeal, visit www.toybox.org.uk/radio4