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This Christmas Give a gift that will last generations

For street children, growing up without a birth certificate often runs in the family.

Give a birth certificate

Street connected families are caught in an inescapable cycle. For generations, children have gone unregistered at birth.

As a result, they grow up unprotected by the law, which leaves them vulnerable to abuse and shut out from basic rights such as healthcare and education.

When these children grow up and become parents themselves, their children face the same reality.

Without a birth certificate, they cannot prove their own identity, and many struggle with the cost, paperwork, and complex legal process needed to obtain one.

“Our parents grew up without their birth certificates, so we were completely trapped. Every time we tried to apply for our own birth certificates, we were told no, because we couldn't prove who our parents were. We were shut out because they were shut out.”

Kange, 9, Kenya

The Champez
family tree

The Champez family live in Nairobi, Kenya. For generations, their family have struggled to access even their most basic rights. Now, all that has changed.

Shosh Champez

Grandmother Shosh Champez

Unregistered at birth

Like her parents, Shosh grew up without a birth certificate on the streets of Nairobi. As a result, she was denied access to basic rights throughout her childhood.

“To the state, we did not exist. We were ghosts walking the streets of our own country.”

Without a birth certificate, when she became a mother herself, she was unable to register her children.

Peng Champez

Mother Peng Champez

Unregistered at birth

Like her mother, Shosh, Peng grew up without a birth certificate. She couldn't attend school or seek medical care. Without the protection of the law, she too spent her childhood at risk of violence and abuse.

Without a chance for registration, she feared her children would face the same future.

Maria Champez

Daughter Maria Champez

Registered

However, Maria's story is different to her mother and grandmother's. Toybox helped the Champez family access their identity documents and now Maria will be the first in her family to go to school, to be able to see a doctor, and be protected by the law.

Best of all, in the future she'll be able to register her own children. Their family now has a real hope of escaping life on the streets.

Children from Maria's community holding their birth certificates

Maria with her family.

This Christmas Help a street child like Maria

Help break the cycle for a family like Maria's and have a lasting impact for generations to come. By giving just one birth certificate, you can give a family the chance to access the opportunities they've long been denied.

Give a birth certificate

£44

On average it costs us £44 to register a street child – a huge sum of money for parents trying to survive on roughly £2 a day.

Three generations of the Champez family
Three generations of the Champez family.

“We can finally access opportunities that were previously beyond our reach. Our biggest dream is to see our children stay in school and achieve the highest level of education possible. We want them to grow up in a safe environment with opportunities we never had. For the first time, we feel hopeful about what lies ahead.”

Shosh, grandmother

This Christmas Give a life changing gift

Your Christmas gift could help transform not just one child’s life, but the lives of generations of children to come.

Give - 1 + Certificates

Make donation of £44 or set your own amount

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Read more about our birth registration work