Arielle and I often get crazy ideas while we run- they usually either involve the kids we nanny for or our other kids, our orphans, on the other side of the world. As we are huffing and puffing around Lake Harriet or Lake Calhoun we somehow think of something to get really fired up about. Lots of times we realize our ideas are just silly and we forget about them, however, a few weeks ago Arielle had a really great idea!
For the past couple weeks we have been collecting shoes for village children who don't have any, and have likely never had any. Shoes are super important for all kids, but especially for children living in Africa. They don't have nice clean sidewalks or plush green grass to go barefoot on. They get cuts and wounds that don't heal! They live in dirt and mud and rocks and need the protection that shoes give. More importantly, shoes protect children from parasites that often enter their bodies through their feet. They get cuts and blisters on their feet that do not heal, and the open wounds are perfect entryways and breeding grounds for bacteria and parasites that can make kids really sick and even kill them. We are focusing on children's shoes because kids are our passion and they are easier to transport.
We also found out a few days ago that World Vision is also starting a campaign to get shoes to children!!! How cool! World Vision sent out a packet of information on just how important shoes are and how they can save lives and generally make things easier for billions of families and children. We are so excited that we are doing something that even World Vision thinks is important.
Our hope is to be able to pass out shoes to an entire village of children! We have been really successful so far and have had so many generous people donate shoes to our cause. We have almost 100 pairs of shoes and we would eventually like to get about 300 pairs. Oh and just to make our idea a little more official- it's called "Shoes Across Uganda."
The picture is of all the shoes we have so far.
