“Before I was registered I felt sad because I was always sent home from school.”
16 year old Ramos (pictured above) lives with his mother and his five siblings in a slum settlement in Nairobi. The area is characterised by inadequate drainage and substandard housing, with most homes constructed from weathered corrugated iron sheets or mud.
For the past few years, Ramos has been involved in a Toybox supported project, run by local partner Pendekezo Letu (PKL) where he has participated in a variety of the project's activities, including life skills workshops. Through the project he's also received counselling and guidance and has been supported to get his birth certificate. Here in his own words, he shares a little about his life, work, and journey towards becoming registered.
Scavenging for survival
"I was sent away from school as we were unable to meet the school's requirements due our economic situation. My mother could not raise the money that was required at the time, so I dropped out in class six. Through peer influence and a desire to support my mother meet some of our basic needs, I ended up on the streets scavenging for waste products for resale.
We sell to scrap vendors who resell them to recycling companies. Metallic items are the most in demand. When the rains are here with us, we enter the nearby community river with magnets attached at the end of a long rod in search of metallic products that are being swept away by the river from other areas. I also earn through scavenging for waste food products from the dumpsite and waste bins to sell to the pig farmers in the community. I like that I get to earn some money to buy food and at times I'm able to support my mother provide for our basic needs. However, there are times when the older youth at the dumping site are very hostile. They beat us up and confiscate our scavenged items, so you go home empty handed. The work can also be tiring - filling a sack with the waste items takes time. We also experience injuries from sharp objects and broken glasses and the smell is very bad."
Pictured above: Ramos with this friend collecting metal items to sell.
Disruptions in education
"Before I had my birth certificate, my mother always had challenges with the school administration as they would send me out of school to bring my birth certificate for purposes of registration for the national examinations. This frequently interrupted my learning. Before I was registered I felt sad because I was always sent home from school. I failed to register for the national exam, and this wasted my life. I was also worried that I would face challenges like my elder brother - he's still unregistered, which is slowing down his process of acquiring an identity card now that he is over 18 years of age. The main reason why I could not get the birth certificate was because my mother had lost the acknowledgement of birth slip which was needed for me to be registered. The health clinic where I was born had closed."
journey towards becoming registered
In the Spring of 2022, Ramos met Toybox local partner, Pendekezo Letu (PKL) and heard about the support and guidance they offer to help unregistered children and young people in street situations obtain their birth certificates. He continues,
"When we told Charles (PKL staff member) about the situation, he was able to help my mother trace this from the hospital health records and paid the money that was required to get a duplicate. He asked us to meet after 3 days, where he opened an email account for us and applied for my birth certificate online on e-citizen. We waited for 2 weeks, and he then called us to tell us the birth certificate had been processed and we could go to pick it up."
Embracing new possibilities
Now that he has his birth certificate, Ramos will no longer face the same barriers accessing education. He shares,
"I think the biggest change to my life now I have my birth certificate will be going back to school and registering for the national exam. It means that I can go back to school and enjoy my rights. I can now get government services like other children in the country. I feel more hopeful about the future." Looking ahead, Ramos concludes, "My family are the most important people in my life because they are the only people that support and stand with me fully in times of need. I am looking forward to going back to school and working hard to become either a police officer or a social worker, supporting the vulnerable children in the streets by giving them a better life and protecting them."
Pictured above Left: Ramos with his birth certificate. Right: Ramos with his mother.