World Renew recognizes that access to education is essential for helping children thrive into adulthood. Unfortunately, education is not always accessible, and for many children, not having a birth certificate becomes a significant barrier.
Pikine, a suburban municipality near Senegal’s capital, Dakar, is home to more than one million people, most of whom face daily challenges related to poverty. In many of the most vulnerable families, children are not registered at birth. As a result, they encounter serious obstacles as they grow up—barriers to enrolling in public school, writing national exams, securing formal employment, registering marriages, and more.
World Renew has been working in Senegal since 1989 and continues to support families facing these challenges, including families like Mrs. Diopp’s.
Mrs. Diopp lives in Pikine and understands firsthand how the lack of civil registration affects a child’s future. For years, she tried to register her three children, aged 4, 5, and 11.
“When the children were born, my husband had lost his identity card. He had taken steps to renew it, but the documents he received were not valid,” she explains. “My husband is careless. Every time I talked to him about it, he said he would take care of it, but he didn’t do anything.”
Her situation became even more difficult when her husband was sentenced to five years in prison, leaving her solely responsible for providing for their children.
Without birth certificates, her children could not attend public school. Instead, she enrolled them in private school at a much higher cost.
“I sold hair products and did laundry for other families to feed my children and pay the school fees,” she says. “I was exhausted because I couldn’t afford the monthly tuition.”
Despite the challenges, Mrs. Diopp remained determined to find a solution so her children could continue their education. She had been told that obtaining birth certificates would require going to court, a process that felt overwhelming and expensive. At one point, someone offered to help her obtain the documents for $100. She tried to negotiate, offering $25 upfront while she searched for the remaining amount.
Then, something unexpected happened.
“God is good,” Mrs. Diopp says with a smile. “I was negotiating with this man when a neighbour came to tell me that there was a new program in Pikine that offered papers for children. I dropped everything to go find out.”
The program was a civic registration initiative supported by World Renew in partnership with Lutheran Services for Senegalese Development (SLDS).
Through this program, SLDS staff helped Mrs. Diopp locate her children’s birth records at a local health centre. She was then able to obtain a court date, and the judge approved her case. Her children were granted official registration that same day.
Mrs. Diopp describes that moment as a great victory.
“Their papers were my biggest dream and what I cherish most in the world . . . I went to the SLDS ladies to thank them. If I had money, I would give it to them because they are welcoming and accessible. They take the trouble to call you and speak to you with respect and consideration. I will continue to visit them and pray for them.”
Today, her children have new opportunities to continue their education and pursue a brighter future.
Through partnerships like this one, World Renew continues to help remove barriers that prevent children from accessing education and reaching their full potential.
