APPENDIX 2: SELECTED CASE HISTORIES FROM FIELDWORK CASE HISTORY ONE (1) Interview with Grade 7 Boy (14 Years) – Mwayerera Primary School, Bindura His father refused to get him a birth certificate citing reasons that he was busy. He is a security guard at Trojan Mine. All the children in the family, except one, have no birth certificates. The RG’s office went to Manhenga Growth Point but his father could not go there with him as he said that he could not take time off from work. Initially the boy was enrolled at Denzva Primary School and was later transferred to Wayerera Primary School in Bindura. He fears that he might not be able to write Grade 7 public exams. However, he managed to fill in the entry forms but the headmistress told him that he might not be able to write the public exams. When SOS came the boy could have qualified to enter into the block grant system but failed due to the lack of birth registration documentation. The boy is brilliant in soccer, so when it is the time for sport he “borrows” other pupils’ birth certificates. The soccer team has all in all 6 people who “borrow” birth certificates from other pupils. The mother has an ID and the father also has one but there is apparent reluctance on the part of the father to commit to obtaining the birth certificate for the boy. CASE HISTORY THREE (2) Interview with Grade 5 Girl (11 years) – Dixie Primary School, Hurungwe The father is deceased and the girl stays with her mother. The father was buried in Mt Darwin. The girl failed to get a birth certificate as the father’s death certificate was not available. The mother has an ID and has made numerous trips to Karoi. The girl stated that the RG’s office advised them to change the girl’s surname to enable her to access birth certificate. The girl also does not have a birth record. Due to economic constraints mother cannot go to Mt. Darwin to get the girls’ father’s death certificate. CASE HISTORY FIVE (3) Interview with Form 3 Boy (17 years) - Chipadze Farm School (Secondary), Bindura XXX lost both parents. The father and mother died after they had been divorced. They died a long time ago. The girl came to Bindura to work as a maid and she does not know any of the maternal/paternal relatives. She lived briefly (6 months) with a married man before the husband ran away to his matrimonial home in Chipadze. After birth delivery, the man has failed to provide for the baby. He says she should claim Birth Registration Research Report/2007 50