Many children in Mali, including the internally displaced, do not have access to original birth certificates due to relocation, loss, or their birth never having been registered. The effects of this are myriad. One negative impact is that children without birth certificates are unable to register for school or receive other basic social services.
Fatoumata Kené is a 12-year-old girl whose family was forced from the commune of Doucombo in central Mali due to a violent extremist attack in May of 2019. Fatoumata and her mother now live in the city of Bandiagara with her paraplegic grandfather.
Alphonse Kassogué, Fatoumata’s godfather and a legal guardian, seized the opportunity to enroll Fatoumata in a USAID Girls’ Leadership and Empowerment through Education (GLEE) Accelerated School Center that provides alternative education for out-of-school children. However, given that the family was forced to leave most of their belongings behind, Fatoumata no longer had access to her birth certificate.
With assistance from USAID GLEE, Fatoumata obtained an official copy of her birth certificate, was able to catch up on her studies, and eventually transitioned to the fifth grade in a formal primary school. Fatoumata said, ‘’I’m very happy to get this birth certificate, because I can pass my exams and get other documents. My mother told me that I had no other official document which could enable me to be considered a full citizen; that’s why she carefully keeps the copy of this birth certificate.’’
To help families obtain birth certificates, USAID GLEE compiled a list of all girls enrolled in ASC’s who did not have their birth certificate and then worked with local magistrates and mayor's offices to open cases, pay fees, and support family and community members to provide the requisite testimony. According to Alphonse, “These children’s rights are now recognized; by allowing them to obtain their identification [documents], they can take their fundamental school exams.”
With support from USAID GLEE, nearly 6,000 adolescents now have their birth certificates, providing them with an official identity, allowing them to enroll in the formal educational system and take examinations, protecting them from early marriage, and opening doors to obtain other civil documents.
