Birth Registration for poor Dominicans and Dominicans of Haitian Descent is a serious issue in the Dominican Republic. Without birth certificates, students cannot attend high school in the Dominican Republic and young adults cannot apply for the identity card (cedula) needed to work. Complicated rules and new legislation has made the problem more difficult in recent years. In Spring 2011, DREAM partnered with Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs (SIPA) on a Community Census and Report to help define DREAM’s Birth Certificate Project in the future. The report, named A Dream Deferred: Birth Registration and Access to Education in the Dominican Republic, found that 28.6% of the children in the community did not have a birth certificate.
Using the SIPA report as our blueprint, DREAM continues to work on this issue in all of our communities by training local community members in the Birth certificate process so they can assist other members of the community. We work with the local government and government-run initiatives to provide easier access to Birth Certificates. In addition, DREAM provides community workshops through organizations like Centro Bono, who is recognized as a nation-wide leader in this Human Rights issue. DREAM currently seeks a full-time intern to work on the project. Easy to read guides are needed to decipher the complicated process and inform residents of their rights.
Click here to learn more (PDF)
If you would like to support this program, click here or contact us, or apply to volunteer.
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