For the children in Cameroon: 10,000 birth certificates in 10 years
A project from ident.africa e.V. in boboyo, Cameroon
Every child has the right to have an identity and an official proof of identity from the moment they were born. We want to help implementing this basic right in Cameroon, also to ensure children have access to schools and education.
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About this project
Eric Essam from ident.africa e.V. is responsible for this project
By donating to this project, you will help us, ident.africa e.V., to pay for issuing birth certificates for children living in the region "Extreme-Nord" in Cameroon. The children will finally get their identity, and with that they can access secondary school and get the chance of graduating.
According to a study by the Cameroonian registration office, an estimated 420,000 children in preschool and primary school in the region "Extreme-Nord" do not possess a birth certificate. So officially, they do not exist.
This leads to a serious problem: once they finalize the sixth grade, the birth certificate is needed to compile the documents required to participate in the primary school exams. Without that, students can not be registered for secondary school.
In general, birth registration is mandatory for all children in Cameroon. A newly born baby must be reported within 30 days. Up to 45 days after birth, issuing a birth certificate is free of charge. In rural areas however, women usually give birth at home. And as they do not have access to Civil Services, nor hospitals or health clinics, the system fails them and their kids.
If parents want to register their children for secondary school, they have to retroactively apply for a birth certificate. The costs now go up to 30 EUR. As this is too expensive for most of the parents, ident.africa e.V. will support families in and near Boboyo financially. As usual, we will work closely with local communities in the various villages. Our joint goal is to issue 10,000 new birth certificates in 10 years and we would like you to support our cause.
Required project budget:
30 EUR per birth certificate x 10,000 birth certificates = 300,000 EUR.
Every child has the right to have a legal identity. See below various international declarations and conventions supporting it:
According to a study by the Cameroonian registration office, an estimated 420,000 children in preschool and primary school in the region "Extreme-Nord" do not possess a birth certificate. So officially, they do not exist.
This leads to a serious problem: once they finalize the sixth grade, the birth certificate is needed to compile the documents required to participate in the primary school exams. Without that, students can not be registered for secondary school.
In general, birth registration is mandatory for all children in Cameroon. A newly born baby must be reported within 30 days. Up to 45 days after birth, issuing a birth certificate is free of charge. In rural areas however, women usually give birth at home. And as they do not have access to Civil Services, nor hospitals or health clinics, the system fails them and their kids.
If parents want to register their children for secondary school, they have to retroactively apply for a birth certificate. The costs now go up to 30 EUR. As this is too expensive for most of the parents, ident.africa e.V. will support families in and near Boboyo financially. As usual, we will work closely with local communities in the various villages. Our joint goal is to issue 10,000 new birth certificates in 10 years and we would like you to support our cause.
Required project budget:
30 EUR per birth certificate x 10,000 birth certificates = 300,000 EUR.
Every child has the right to have a legal identity. See below various international declarations and conventions supporting it:
- Human Rights - Article 6: Everyone has the right to be recognized as a person before the law.
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - Article 16: Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - Article 24(2): Birth register, name, nationality
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - Article 7: Birth register, name, nationality
- UN Agenda 2030 (Sustainable Development Goals) - Goal 16.9: Implement global birth registration.
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