Rama Cay is the name of a small island close to Bluefields at the south Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. It is a quiet island with some hundred people mostly of indigenous ethnic Rama. Today less than 50 people speak their native tongue Rama. Conditions of life are limited, there is no drinking water or electricity on the island, daily food they must fish on the ocean.
On this island...
more »Rama Cay is the name of a small island close to Bluefields at the south Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. It is a quiet island with some hundred people mostly of indigenous ethnic Rama. Today less than 50 people speak their native tongue Rama. Conditions of life are limited, there is no drinking water or electricity on the island, daily food they must fish on the ocean.
On this island live Henry and his brother Jared. Both are Rama people and until today had no document about their existence. One might think now on a small island there is no need to have one because all the people know each other. Mr Demetrio, a teachers on the island leaves no child outside the classroom that don't bring an official identification. But what if that become different one day. When Jared is asked about what he wants to do in the future he says: "I want to be a doctor". On Rama Cay never has been a real Doctor and ill people always have to travel to the main land.
According to the UN-Report from 2002 ''Right from the Start'', 45 % of the population of Nicaragua is not registered. The average is even higher, up to 60 % in rural communities like at the Caribbean Coast. UNICEF claims that more than a million children in Nicaragua don't have an official Birth Registration, no official name or nationality. The law about the national register of citizens was written in 1904 and isn't decentralized developed.
In 2007 the caribbean human rights organization CEDEHCA started the field work to the program ''The right to a name and nationality of the children and youth from the RAAS(South Atlantic Autonomy Region)'' which is supported by UNICEF Nicaragua. In a country it is not possible to spread social care equally if it's unknown how many people live in each part. People without a Birth Registration can't get a passport, can't visit University, can't get an official work or take part in presidential elections.
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