We have the right to have documents. And it begins with the birth registration.

Xavier Bandula has personal ID card since he was a child because his parents registered him to get to school. However, until his twenty years old, Bandula knew almost nothing about the importance of that document, until one day he was reached in a community mobilization session through theater done by the group Os Retratistas da Zambézia - one of the actions carried out in the field of the project to raise awareness of the birth and death registers in Mozambique.

The theater, in its relaxed way and of transmitting and sharing knowledge, helps to clarify to parents and caregivers about the importance of birth and death registration, making clear the message that birth and death should be readily stated - "I only had a ballot because my parents registered me because of the school. I did not know anything else, but fortunately I clarified myself when I accompanied a theater about birth and death registration, where they explained a lot, from when, who and how to register", explains Xavier Bandula.

Aware of the procedures to perform birth registration, Xavier Bandula proved his apprentice of our theater by helping his son's mother, Maria Quenesse, to register so that they could declare the birth of the little Isac Xavier Bandula - "I learned that to register a child, parents must have their documents and baby’s hospital documents (yellow card). When I learned from the neighborhood secretary that a registration team will be in our community, I looked for money to first register my wife and then register our son".

Xavier Bandula, a young father, leaves the advice to all of us - "all children have the right to have documents. And for that, all begins with the birth registration. Only in this way can we ensure the enjoyment of our rights, such as avoiding complications at school".

Mobilization and awareness-raising activities for adherence to birth registration and other vital events (eCRVS) are the initiative of the Government of Mozambique, funded by the Government of Canadá through UNICEF and with the support of Save the Children and partners.

For more information, please contact:

Vieira Cumbi
Tel: +258 82 06 75 714
Email: vieira.cumbi@savethechildren.org