This story was authored by Eunice Baraza. Eunice is a community development officer who champions the rights of children, works with the less fortunate and is passionate about ending gender-based violence in society.

ABOUT MIGORI COUNTY

Migori is a county located to the south west of Kenya along the border with The Republic of Tanzania, and the main economic activities carried out in the region include fishing, farming, gold mining and commercial activities. However, the county is still plagued by considerable levels of poverty, caused by cultural practices such as child marriages, wife inheritance, female genital mutilation and marginalization of girls from getting education. 

Due to some of these traditional practices, most families have a high number of children and, due to the high poverty levels, catering for the basic needs of these children is a great challenge.

It is against this backdrop that schools such as Senior Chief Baraza Odenge Primary school have been set up as collaboration between the community and the government to enhance education levels and improve the general social welfare of children in the community through ventures such as this.

Having grown up in this society, I witnessed first-hand the adverse effects of poverty and these traditions. This propelled me to want to assist in alleviating poverty and assist in any small way possible. 

THE SHOE DISTRIBUTION

I came across The Shoe That Grows on Facebook and was immediately drawn to it as I had initially identified a problem item of children going to school with bare feet and/or with worn out shoes. Most children cover long distances to get to school and risk getting injuries and contracting water borne diseases such as bilharzia. I reached out in October 2020 and got feedback on the availability of the shoes in December, 2022.

Once I received the 300 pairs of shoes, I liaised with the management of Senior Chief Odenge Baraza Primary school where most of the children from the village attend their classes. The headmaster and the board of management accepted my request to hold the shoe issuing function at the institution and volunteered to spread the word across the village. They indeed appreciated the impact these shoes would have on the morale of the children as well as improving their quality of life.

Issuing of the shoes allocated began at about 10.30 am at the school. We did a brief introduction of Because International and educated the children on hygiene and how to operate the shoe so that it may serve them appropriately. The children present were largely from the lower primary classes due to the fact that the sizes available were ranging from small to large.

The management of the school was able to reach 200 students, and through a local church we reached 100 students; giving a total of 300 students. These children were in various classes though we concentrated majorly in the ones in lower primary due to the sizes of the shoes that we received from Because and secondly due to the feet sizes of the children. 

The children were overjoyed to receive these shoes during the festive period and indeed acclaimed that they had received a new year’s gift. The children will have shoes for a considerable number of years that will protect them from any hazards as they walk to school. Additionally, there is a likelihood of increased school attendance for some of the children who were missing out on school as a result of this challenge. I believe the shoes will go a long way in restoring the dignity of the children as clothing is a basic need.

HOW TO SUPPORT SHOE DISTRIBUTIONS

Because International receives hundreds of inquiries each year from individuals requesting shoes for the kids in their community. Over time, we’ve been able to send shoes to many of these communities—but with your help, we can distribute The Shoe That Grows faster and to more kids. Join our monthly giving community The Sole to support shoe distributions on a recurring basis.