Despite many hurdles, families are being documented, thanks to Kids Justice

“Your identity is your most valuable possession. Protect it.” – Elastigirl (The Incredibles)

Our Kids Justice team has been working tirelessly to get birth certificates and Identity Documents for families and individuals in need of help.

Shiluva Manyike, a social worker at Kids Haven, is encouraged by these recent success stories…

Abandoned but hope prevails

Teresa (not her real name) first met Shiluva in 2021. She was born in 1993 at home in Gauteng. Her mother took her to the Eastern Cape to stay with her grandparents and never returned. Her mother went on to have more children but never contacted Teresa. Years later, Teresa’s grandfather tried to get her documented but because he wasn’t her father his application was denied. Her grandparents sadly then passed away. In 2013, Teresa met a woman who claimed to know who her father was. She travelled to Johannesburg with the woman and met her father. Through Facebook she managed to track down her half-siblings which lead to her meeting her mother for the first time. Unfortunately, her mother did not want anything to do with her. After staying with her father for a while, he then sold his house and left her homeless, returning himself to the Eastern Cape. It was at this point that she contacted Kids Haven and the team started helping her. Her father said he couldn’t afford to travel from the Eastern Cape so the team tracked down her mother and transported her from Orange Farm and back several times to get the necessary interviews and paperwork done. Finally, Teresa received her birth certificate at the age of 31. The team has applied for her ID and then will start the process of assisting her apply for birth certificates for her two children.

Siblings finally see results

Two families we have been assisting have finally received positive results after months of application processes.

A family of seven children and a mother were all documented and received birth certificates earlier in the year, thanks to the Kids Justice team. The eldest daughter applied for her ID and last month it finally came through. That means that all the older children have now also got IDs and the mother is receiving social grant money to support her children.

The second family – with five children – have been in the documentation process since 2021. One of the older boys fortunately managed to get a DNA test done before his father passed away and because the test was positive, he received his documentation. Through an extension of the DNA testing, the other siblings also received positive results and the team applied for a late registration of birth for them last year. Despite a delay due to issues with their mother’s passport (Kids Haven stepped in to financially assist her with the passport issue), all the children now have their birth certificates. The two oldest sisters are currently waiting for their IDs.

“Every adult or child that is documented is a huge victory for us. We encounter so many challenges but documentation means life for these people. The doors open in terms of school, social grants, job opportunities and so much more. Our biggest challenge currently is delays in DNA results. We have more than 10 cases waiting on results from last year. The documentation process is costly. We assist with all the associated costs as well as transport for the applicants and the social workers who help them. We so appreciate any donations towards this worth-while work,” says Shiluva.