How can a simple document change a person’s life? For Genevie, her newly-acquired birth certificate is key to new hopes and dreams.
Genevie was one of the birth registrants in Upi, Maguindanao who received her birth certificate for the first time during the handover ceremony of UNHCR and UNICEF’s joint birth registration project. © UNHCR/Angelica Almario
On 22 March 2023, hundreds of birth registrants gathered in the People’s Hall of Upi, Maguindanao to claim their birth certificates for the first time. Most of them traveled from far-flung barangays to the main town where the municipal office is located. Among the registrants was 18-year-old Genevie and her family.
Genevie arrived at the ceremonial handover of birth certificates in the People’s Hall with her parents and younger sibling. In more than 30 years of living in Upi, it was the first time the family got to visit the municipal office. Everything from this experience was exciting for Genevie–from being able to see a new side of her hometown to finally acquiring her birth certificate.
“I don’t have a birth certificate. That is my only problem. I’m excited to learn in school but I couldn’t continue my studies because I lack the needed requirements.”
Genevie finished primary school, but she had to delay her education due to the lack of a birth certificate needed to continue for Seventh Grade. “I was not accepted by the school because I don’t have a birth certificate. That’s the only thing left to get enrolled,” Genevie shared. Currently, Genevie helps her family in making ends meet by selling their family’s crops in the community market, but Genevie’s ultimate childhood dream is to finish her education and become a teacher. When asked why, she shared that she wanted to help her family and make life a little more bearable for them.
With the help of the birth registration initiative by UNHCR and other partners such as UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), Genevie and over 600 individuals from Maguindanao received their birth documentation for free in March 2023. With her birth certificate on-hand, Genevie is more confident than ever. “Now that I have a birth certificate, I have new hopes and dreams for myself,” she said.
Genevie, her mother, and her brother secured their newly issued proof of legal identity. © UNHCR/Angelica Almario
Most of the birth registrants were from far-flung areas in Upi, Maguindanao who traveled from their homes to the People’s Hall for the handover ceremony. © UNHCR/Angelica Almario
UNHCR is grateful for the commitment and support of the local government of Upi, the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and partner United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for the successful implementation of the birth registration project in Maguindanao. The initiative is being implemented in line with the Philippines’ National Action Plan (NAP) to End Statelessness and the UNHCR-UNICEF Joint Strategy to Ending Childhood Statelessness.
Through this collaboration, the children and families who were previously unregistered since birth – like Genevie and her family – now have a legal proof of their identity on paper. At the same time, they can finally enjoy the same rights and protection from having full documentation.
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