TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Tashana, who has her eyes set on becoming a lawyer, will take the first step towards that dream in September when she enters first form.

This, however, could not have been achieved without a small miracle which to others might seem insignificant, but which means the world to Tashana.

In the past year, Tashana’s guardians were able to secure the birth certificate which allowed their ward to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test.

Before that, her chances of taking the exam, much less that of securing a spot at the prestigious high school, were nil.

Mom, a basic school teacher, said the certificate has changed the course of her foster daughter’s life, and is happy that she persevered in securing the document.

“I got her from she was two plus. I raised her. She is like my own daughter; she is the only child, we don’t have one of our own. But she was not registered, not at all.”

Tashana would become one of close to 3,000 persons who are beneficiaries of phase two of ‘Operation Certification’ — part of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF) Inner-city Basic Services Project which, in association with the Registrar General’s Department, delivered registration documents free of charge in 12 inner-city communities.

The initiative was funded by the Government of Jamaica and the World Bank and has seen residents of Flanker in St James; Bucknor, Knollis, Shelter Rock, Lauriston, Tawes Meadows and March Pen/Africa in St Catherine, as well as Whitfield Town and Jones Town in St Andrew, all benefiting from targeted outreach fairs designed to achieve social inclusion.

Tashana will need the certificate for all official purposes in her life, including the sitting of examinations.

When the JSIF programme began, the foster mom seized the opportunity presented.

“When JSIF came by in Tawes Meadows we were one of the first to apply, but I did not have all the details,” she said.

The entire process took years, she noted, as at first she needed information which could only be provided by the biological mother.

On locating the biological mother, she was able to provide information required by officers from the Registrar General’s Department.

“I tried hard and eventually found her mother to get some information. It took six years. In the last round we told them she needed it for her GSAT. That speeded up the case.”

When the examination results came out in late May this year, the entire family was ecstatic.

“She came from school saying, ‘I pass, I pass’. I heard them (Tashana and her dad) down there yelling. She got her third choice. She was happy about it. She is still happy.”

Many of the beneficiaries of ‘Operation Certification’ now find it much easier to collect remittances from overseas, as with their birth certificate they now have been able to obtain national identification. They can also now get a Tax Registration Number, insurance and National Health Fund benefits.