The right to an identity is critical – it is the right that brings all rights!

 The destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities. – Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Kids Haven team is celebrating a victory that is apt for this Human Rights Day month. Recently a family with five children received word that they had all been officially documented, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Kids Justice team. This is a major win because for years their rights have been denied due to not having any official documentation. Shiluva Manyike, a social worker at Kids Haven, has been involved in the case and says it has been a struggle registering them at school every year. One child was refused entry into school last year and another was even kept back a year because of this issue. “Now they have applied for a child support grant and all the children are in school. If they want to participate in sports, they are free do so because they have documentation showing proof of birth and so on. Without documentation, these children were prevented from accessing the right to education and were not recognised as citizens. The sky is the limit for them now and their future is secure. They will be able to complete Matric and go onto further studies and work opportunities as South African citizens. None of this would have been possible without their late birth registration.  DNA tests and interviews had to take place to prove their citizenship. We are so thrilled with this outcome,” she says.

This is why Kids Haven’s Kids Justice team is so critical. The team has undergone training to understand the pathways to citizenship and how to gather the necessary documentation to prove relationship. Kids Haven is assisted by a children’s rights attorney, and partners in legal resource centres.

“We see citizenship as a key component of child safety or protection. Without a document you are invisible. Being invisible means you are most likely not to realise your rights – the right to protection, right to health, right to education, right to work, right to social support. All these rights are critical for your well-being. Without these rights, you are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and hardship – even illiteracy, no healthcare, and no work,” says Shiluva.