Photo: Alana stands proudly after meeting with local government officials to discuss child rights
My biggest dream is to support street children and to travel to other countries to help children who find themselves in difficult situations. For those children who aren’t registered yet, I’d say try whatever you can to get your ID card or birth certificate. I know how it feels to be invisible and I would hate for other children to feel the same way.”
Toybox would like to say a heartfelt thank you for the incredible kindness of all the Radio 4 listeners who gave so generously to our appeal presented by Richard Coles. You have helped raise a total of £43,382, to transform street children’s lives by registering them with their birth certificates. For a child who lives on the street, a birth certificate is so much more than a piece of paper. It opens doors to education, protection, and many other basic human rights. Without one, children are vulnerable to trafficking, abuse, and exploitation. It costs just £46 to give a street child in Bolivia a birth certificate, so this amount will help transform hundreds of young lives.
An official identity. Protection from harm. Hope and opportunity for the future. This, and so much more, is what Radio 4 listeners have given to unregistered children and young people surviving on the streets today. Children like Alana.
Alana’s life has been punctuated by periods of living on and off the streets with her mum and younger brother. Growing up, she’d spend her time selling sweets and caramels on the street, missing out on school because she didn’t have her birth certificate. She was also denied access to services like healthcare which affected her self-esteem and mental health.
Fortunately, the frontline team in Bolivia were able to support Alana through the process of getting her birth certificate, which also meant registering her little brother and mum as well. Now she officially exists, Alana has been able to enrol into school, where her confidence has grown, and she now hopes to become a doctor. Recently, she became a leader in her community youth group and even shared her experiences with the Child and Youth Rights Commission for the UN - which wouldn’t have been possible without her birth certificate.
The overwhelming generosity in response to our appeal is enabling Toybox to extend our birth registration work into a new area in Bolivia, Santa Cruz, where registration rates are worryingly low. The difference that this will make to children in this community, like Alana, will be truly life-changing.
To find out more about the impact of your donations, please visit .
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Toybox Charity Richard Coles presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Toybox.