Usama, A Child Officially Registered – A Breakthrough by Nour

Nour Foundation for Relief and Development- The Support Project (Da’em)

Usama’s mother sat on the stairs  shedding tears of gratitude for having the birth of her Usama registered at last. Ten years after his birth, he is now legally registered in the civil records.

Registering Usama was a long difficult journey for his mother. It needed her to go on visits to hospitals and police stations in different areas. She also had to go looking for the midwife who had delivered her baby years ago. This journey began with a legal awareness session about the importance of birth registration at Nour WGSS in Al Zahira. In cooperation with an attorney from Nour WGSS, Usama’s mother was guided through the process of registration.

Procrastination, ignorance, and displacement were the reasons why Usama’s parents couldn’t register his birth earlier.

“Usama is my son.I can prove this now. I can also enroll him in a school,” Usama’s mother excitedly remarked.

The smiles we saw on the faces of Usama and his mother were enough to keep us  motivated to help more and more people get their documents completed.

Usama’s story is a story that keeps repeating itself but in different circumstances, dates and with different names.  Persons without birth registration documentation or who have not been registered may be denied education; they can face early marriages; they may be more vulnerable to illegal adoption, military recruitment, child labour and trafficking; and they may be at risk of statelessness. Raising awareness about this issue is one of the goals of The Support Project ( Da’em) that is funded by th UNFPA and run by Nour Foundation.