Bolivia

Historias reales

Working wonders for kids

© UNICEF/Bolivia/Uzal

Two-year-old Alfredo, who was born with a clubfoot, plays with Maria.

By Cristina Uzal

Another day dawns in the urban sprawl of El Alto, one of the poorest cities in Bolivia, and 4,100 metres above sea level. The cold air and exhaust fumes mingle with the smell of food sold by street vendors gently rousing the city's 700,000 inhabitants out of sleep. Social worker, Maria Sonia Pérez, 37, prepares herself for another day at the office.

Maria works in La Ceja at the Municipal Defender's Office for Children and Adolescents, an institution set up, with UNICEF support, in 1997 to protect the rights of children. Indexes for child abuse and violence against children are high in Bolivia. Unfortunately, a culture of respect for children does not exist, and in certain areas of the country children are not considered 'persons' until they are over three years old. The majority of the city's inhabitants are Aymara migrants from traditional rural communities looking for a way out of poverty.

On this particular morning, 23-year-old Juanita drops in to see Maria in her tiny tin-roofed office. Juanita's case is one of the many that Maria has worked on. She says: "The fact is, people come to the Defender's Office because they have no other support. We are the only people they can turn to."

© UNICEF/Bolivia/Uzal

Alfredo, who can now run about and walk, with his mother, Juanita.

Juanita is pregnant with her second child. Her first child, Alfredo, aged two, is a bright and playful boy who cannot keep still for a minute. "He can run about and walk now," she comments. A few months ago, however, when Juanita and Alfredo first came to Maria's office, Alfredo couldn't walk. He was born with a deformed foot, which Juanita claims is a result of the beatings she endured at the hands of her estranged partner during her pregnancy.

Maria referred Alfredo to hospital where doctors operated on his foot by inserting surgical screws into his leg. These were to be removed with a second operation. His mother tried unsuccessfully to borrow money for this operation.

When Juanita appealed to Alfredo's father for money, he simply responded by saying: "Let him die, I don't care." Again, Juanita came to see Maria in the Defender's Office. By this time, Alfredo's leg was infected by the screws that were still in place two months after the first operation. The situation was serious and required immediate action. The team at the Defender's Office, including a lawyer, negotiated with the hospital and, finally, the doctors agreed to operate on the boy. "I received a lot of help from them," affirms Juanita. She adds, "Thanks to them (Maria, the lawyer, the psychologist and other social workers) my Alfredito did not loose his foot."

Subsequently, the Defender's Office staff submitted a claim on Juanita's behalf for family assistance from her former partner. Juanita immediately suffered more abuse as he was angry that she was seeking any assistance from him at all. In view of his abusive behaviour and refusal to pay assistance, the Defender's Office sent the case to the courts. The case is still being processed.

On average, Maria sees about 20 cases a day with problems ranging from child abuse, paternal or maternal neglect, family assistance claims and numerous cases of exploitation and child prostitution. Most of the abuse takes place in the home and in the schools. Since the opening of the first office, a further 219 Child and Adolescent Defender's Offices have been opened in 194 of the 314 municipalities in the country. There are plans to increase the number of offices providing services in rural areas, with UNICEF providing training, technical assistance, equipment and communication and advocacy materials.

The work of social workers like Maria and her team has helped to raise public awareness of the importance of protection for children and adolescents, which has resulted in more official reports of abuse. Meanwhile, Maria has the rest of the day ahead of her and many more cases to deal with.