Shyla

Shyla is 29 years old and grew up in Guatemala City. As an adult, she had little choice but to settle in a zone of the city which is notorious for violence and crime. In 2021, Shyla fell pregnant with her daughter, Felicia, who is now 4 months old. Her pregnancy was smooth until one day, as she was getting on the bus with her parents and sister into the city centre, she lost her ID card as she pulled out her bus pass.

“It was so dark and busy on the bus, I think my ID card must have fallen out as I showed my bus pass. I didn’t realise until it was too late. When I did realise, I was a bit worried, but knew that I couldn’t afford to replace them, so I didn’t think much more of it.” Shyla

Initially, Shyla wasn’t too concerned. She and her baby were still well, and she was getting excited for the day when she’d finally meet her daughter. However, it wasn’t long until she realised the impact that not having her ID card meant for herself in the lead up to the birth and the implications on her daughter.

In April 2022, Felicia was born in a hospital in the city. As soon as she was born, Shyla faced challenges for not being able to show her ID card. As there was no legal proof that she was Felicia’s mum, the hospital was unwilling to discharge either of them. After several attempts to get both her and Felicia out of the hospital, she became desperate, and her family intervened to break both of them out without official permission.

From that day, Shyla was terrified that someone from the hospital would find her and take Felicia away from her because there was no proof that she was her mum. Eventually however, Felicia’s health needs had to be seen to and Shyla took her to the local health centre.

“As I expected, I couldn’t get any of the vaccinations, medicines or tablets I needed for Felicia because neither of us had our birth registration documents. But, when we were there, the nurse told me about CONACMI and about how they would help me get my new documents and Felicia’s.” Shyla

From there, Shyla was introduced to CONACMI who supported her through the process to get her documents. Her quest to register her daughter has been spurred on by her ex-partner trying to kidnap Felicia to live with him on the streets. Even the day before the registration, he threatened to kill Shyla if she didn’t give him the baby. Fortunately, her family were there and able to help her defend herself and Felicia.

This interaction with her ex pushed Shyla to register herself as Felicia’s sole parent with total custody of the little girl. Now, both of them have the documents they’ll need to live full lives and Shyla’s greatest relief is that she can now prove she’s Felicia’s mother.

“In the future, no one can say that I’m not her mother because I have the proof. All I hope for her future is that she has happiness, love, freedom and peace – and that she can be who she wants to be. I also have hopes to return to my studies to make something of myself too and do everything I’ve always wanted to do.”