DISQUS

Ken_L · 6 months ago

Amazingly coincidentally, I just got off Skype talking to my partner about exactly that issue. He has no birth certificate; in fact his mother is not 100% sure what year he was born in, let alone the exact time and place. It's not a problem for people who remain in extreme poverty - they buy a forged birth certificate to enrol in elementary school and after that it's not really an issue. For someone who wants to get into any kind of regular civil society however it's a huge handicap ... no driver's licence, no passport, no bank account, no property ownership, no voting at elections, the list goes on and on of all the things that can't be done without a birth certificate or the various forms of ID that can only be obtained with a birth certificate.

After grappling with the problem for 6 months we are no closer to finding a solution.

Toaf · 6 months ago

It's nuts, isn't it? Such a simple thing causes so much trouble. I wonder if UNICEF or anyone else is doing something in Manila. I believe Save the Children works on this issue, too.