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UK: Leeds-based charity launch BBC Radio 4 Appeal to help Zimbabweans gain legal identity
UNITED KINGDOM: A Leeds-based charity has launched a BBC Radio 4 appeal to help tackle a crisis affecting over 50% of Zimbabwean children: the lack of a birth certificate.
The Zimbabwe Educational Trust, a charity which was founded in 1987 by Vuli Mkandla, an educator from Zimbabwe who moved to Leeds, works with grassroots organisations in Zimbabwe to deliver education-focused projects for marginalised young people.
Their appeal, named Exist to Exist – Every Child’s Right to Be Seen, aims to shine a light on how families are denied basic rights because of missing paperwork.
According to UNICEF, only 49% of births in Zimbabwe are registered.
Without a birth certificate, people in Zimbabwe can be denied access to basic rights including healthcare and education.
Andrew Jackson, Zimbabwe Educational Trust Operational Manager said: “Birth registration is one of the biggest issues of our time within Africa and significantly within Zimbabwe. Around half of the entire population and children under five in Zimbabwe are not registered.
“There’s a myriad of reasons why but it is an absolute block to human rights”.
Derrik Mkandla, Chair of Trustees at the Zimbabwe Educational Trust also highlighted that without a birth certificate, Zimbabweans cannot access a national ID which means they cannot vote, access legal work, or obtain a passport.
He said: “In Zimbabwe you need a birth certificate to get your national ID. Without your national ID, you effectively don’t exist.”
The issue not only affects children. Often, parents of unregistered children in Zimbabwe are also unregistered themselves.
Since 2011, the Zimbabwe Educational Trust has been working with Trinity Project, a grassroots organisation in Zimbabwe, to help people gain legal identification. Together, they’ve supported 7,700 children and 2,600 adults to gain access to birth registration.
Their work has focused on covering hidden costs of registration such as transport and legal advice, and educating communities on the importance of registration.
The Zimbabwe Educational Trust have now launched an appeal on BBC Radio 4 to raise awareness of the issue and fundraise to increase support the Zimbabwe Educational Trust and Trinity Project can provide.
The appeal, which is voiced by Zimbabwean-born international speaker, author, and human rights advocate Africa Brooke, will be available to listen to on BBC Sounds until September 21. They’ll also be able to hear a live broadcast on September 18 at 3:27pm.
If listeners wish to make a donation to the Zimbabwe Educational Trust, they can do so by phone, cheque, or online.
Derrick said: “You’d never think that birth registration would be an issue.
“Here, people take birth certificates for granted. I hope that (this campaign) raises awareness of the challenges that people face that people just don’t think about here.”
The BBC Radio 4 Appeal shares the story of Precious, a mother of six. When she took two of her children to hospital for malnutrition, an issue quickly became apparent: none of her children had birth certificates.
The Zimbabwe Educational Trust and Trinity Project worked together to assign Precious a Case Officer who helped provide legal advice and accompanied Previous to the registration office.
Tragically, the help came too late for one of Precious’ sons, named Needmore, who died at just two years old from malnutrition.
Exist to Exist – Every Child’s Right to Be Seen is an appeal which aims to raise UK awareness of this issue and show people how they can help.
Andrew said: “We hope that this campaign gives us the momentum and resources to help some of the most vulnerable children and families to have a fair shot in life.”
To find out more about the Zimbabwe Educational Trust, visit their website.