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Every child
deserves to
officially exist

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Toybox is delighted to have been chosen for a BBC Radio 4 Appeal, presented by the wonderful Reverend Richard Coles.

A precious gift

When you do that very specific and very precious thing to give street children an official identity, you give them a future too. I’m very honoured to be involved in the work of Toybox to help improve the lives of street children around the world.

Richard on where to listen and how to get involved:

In Bolivia hundreds of thousands of children are not registered

These children have no identity and no legal rights. They are denied healthcare and unable to go to school.

Many unregistered children end up on the streets where they are vulnerable to trafficking, abuse, and sexual exploitation. Because they do not officially exist, no one is obliged to protect them.

On average, obtaining a birth certificate in Bolivia costs just £46. For children living in crises, this cost can be insurmountable. But with your help, it is possible.

Messi’s story

After fleeing abuse from his father, 10-year-old Messi and his family survived on the bustling streets of one of Bolivia's largest cities, La Paz. Without their identity documents, they were rejected every time they asked for help and even turned away from refuges because they couldn’t prove who they were.

"I lived in fear with my siblings - we were afraid that they would separate us from our mother."

Read more

“Nobody would let us into accommodation so that we could stay overnight because my mother was asked for our identity documents. 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.”

Learn more about Toybox's birth registration work

8,000
children

registered around the world thanks to Radio 4 listeners.

With your support, we can register even more.

In Bolivia a birth certificate costs an average of £46

  • We need to find the midwife who delivered the child to obtain a report – this takes time and money.
  • We need to provide the parents' ID documents - sometimes this can mean helping to register them too.
  • We need to find two witnesses and pay for transport costs to the civil registration office.
  • We need to pay legal fees and cover the cost of the late registration.

Donate

Each birth certificate costs £46

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