March 15 is Shoe The World Day, a day that recognizes the importance of footwear and the need that millions of people have for shoes.
Without shoes, kids are left vulnerable to soil-transmitted diseases and parasites, are less likely to attend school, and lack protection while playing outside. Together, we can help.
That’s a lot of kids who are walking barefoot—leaving them vulnerable to soil-transmitted diseases, parasites, and injuries that can lead to life-threatening infections.
At Because, we’ve set an ambitious goal of bringing that number down to zero by 2030. That’s right—from 600,000 kids to not a single child in rural Kenya without shoes.
There are approximately 600,000 kids in rural Kenya who don’t own a pair of shoes. Without protection on their feet, they are left vulnerable to soil-transmitted diseases, parasites, and injuries that can lead to infection. Your donation for Shoe The World Day will provide kids in rural Kenya with a pair of expanding shoes, protecting their feet for years as they grow.
The pairs will be distributed through our partner, Swahiba Networks, across five schools in Budalangi Constituency, Kenya. This area is impacted by poverty, partly due to regular flooding that leads to the destruction of crops and homes. Donors to this campaign will receive updates after the distribution.
100%. For every $20 you donate, we’ll send two pairs of The Shoe That Grows to a child in Kenya.
Swahiba Networks is a Kenya-based nonprofit that we began partnering with in 2023 to distribute shoes. Swahiba’s primary focus is supporting the marginalized communities living in the slums and rural areas of Kenya. Since partnering, we’ve distributed 2,731 pairs of The Shoe That Grows together, and we look forward to continued partnership in the future as we work to ensure all kids in Kenya have access to a pair of shoes.
Because International’s story began in Kenya when our founder met a little girl in a white dress who was wearing shoes much too small for her feet. Inspired to create a shoe that could grow along with a child, The Shoe That Grows was born. Since then, we’ve continued to work within the country through manufacturing at the Umoja Shoe Company in Mombasa and shoe distributions.
Through our partnership with local Kenya partner Swahiba Networks, we learned that 600,000 kids in rural Kenya still need a pair of shoes. So, given our passion for the community there and ability to distribute pairs easily from the factory, we made a commitment to continue working within the country that means so much to our mission and founding story. This campaign is the first step in our goal to reduce the number of kids to zero who need shoes by 2030.
Gordian Staffing, a company that helps businesses thrive by providing remote employees to companies throughout the US and Canada, initially provided a generous $10,000 gift to match donations 1:1 for Shoe The World Day. After hitting the goal mid-week, they released an additional $5,000 to increase the number of children who will receive shoes from 1,000 to 1,500!
