When Kyaw turned five, his mother took him to enrol in primary school.
Like other parents, she was beyond excited. Daw Nyo couldn't wait to see her son in a school uniform.
But to her horror, her son was denied enrolment. He didn't have a birth certificate.
Children without birth certificates in Myanmar are far more vulnerable than those with them. Without a birth certificate, it’s impossible to go to school or travel around the country.
“I thought my son will be allowed to enrol in the school, even without a birth certificate,” she said. “I felt so sad and hopeless when my son was not accepted at school.”
Daw Nyo was desperate to find a solution.
Luckily, she met a World Vision volunteer (named Daw Moe) who had already helped three families get birth certificates.
Daw Moe volunteers in her community teaching about maternal and child health. She raises awareness about health education, immunisations, and the importance of birth certificates.
“Daw Moe suggested that I start saving money so that I could apply for birth certificates and promised to help me,” shared Daw Nyo. “She helped me in every step of the process, beginning to end.”
With perseverance, Kyaw's mother saved a little money every day.
Daw Moe helped her to obtain a confirmation of residency letter from the ward authority where Daw Nyo and her family lived. Once they received that confirmation letter, she went to the local police department for another recommendation letter.
With the two letters in hand, Daw Nyo took an application to the local midwife who completed the forms.
Within two months, an official birth certificate for Kyaw was ready.
“I want my son to be educated. I want to see my son working at a desk with a pen in the shade, not working away in the hot sun. I don’t want him to be uneducated like me. I will support him in whatever ways I can, even if I have to struggle with many difficulties,” Daw Nyo said.
When school enrolment began again this past June, Kyaw was ready. He and his mother walked confidently into the school office to register Kyaw as a grade 1 student, and at this very moment, Kyaw is receiving the education he came so close to missing out on.