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El-Afadra is a small village in upper Egypt where I first saw dirt roads, a part-time medical clinic, an optional grammar school, and houses built of mud bricks with palm leaf roofs. Several years later, I decided to start a project that would reduce the number of scorpion bites among children in my father's native village, El-Afadra. To do this, I collected over 500 pairs of gently-used shoes from schools here in Sacramento, and then brought them with me on my summer trip to Egypt. Scorpion stings are second only to snakebites as causes of toxin-related deaths in North Africa, making it a significant health issue in this area of the world. For my finished product, I decided I to make a documentary about life in the village, to expose others to this place that is hidden from the rest of the world, and to share the amazing experience I had.
I felt shoes would be the most effective method of prevention, since most bites occur when a child accidentally steps on a scorpion. I collected shoes from three of my old schools: Brookfield School, Sutterville Preschool, and Salam School. After a month of collecting and organizing the shoes by size, which I did in my living room, I realized that I had an incredible amount of shoes. I decided to give the dilapidated, worn-out shoes to Good Will Industries, a charity distribution center. This decreased the number of shoes from close to 800 pairs to about 500 pairs.
Once I realized how many shoes I had collected, it occurred to me that shipping the shoes to Egypt might be a problem. Since it would be impossible to bring over all the shoes simply in our luggage, I began to look into policies for excess shipping. A family friend advised me to seek help from government agencies such as the American Egyptian Cooperation Foundation, the American Egyptian Chamber of Commerce in New York, and others. The last agency I chose to look into for help with financing excess shipping was the Egyptian Consulate General’s office, whose position is held by Mr. Abderahman Salaheldin. I eventually met the Consulate General, and two days before my departure, his office transferred $150 into my mom’s bank account, enough to send two extra suitcases to Egypt. I was very thankful and promised to send them a copy of my documentary after my trip.
With the Consulate General’s help, I was able to bring over 500 pairs of shoes to Egypt. After a few days in Cairo we took the train-ride to Assyuit, a large city near Al-Afadra. We drove out to El-Afadra the next morning, the whole time passing along the Nile. Most of the shoes had already been brought to the village with one of my Egyptian relatives. This way I would not have to cram all the suitcases of shoes into the small car. When I arrived at the mandara, the community center, the suitcases were brought in and the shoes were arranged in piles by size. Finally, I was ready to open the doors. A line quickly formed and the children were very happy to get their pair of shoes. One thing that fascinated me was the children’s large feet! Apparently, because they never wear real shoes, their feet naturally grow larger than American children’s feet. Some of the children were not able to help me put on their shoes when I would help them try on a pair, probably because they had never worn a pair of closed-toe shoes before. All children and almost all adults in El-Afadra wear plastic flip-flops, which are paid for by the government and easy to slip on. Unfortunately, they do no sufficiently protect the feet. After an hour or two of distribution, I looked outside and saw a sea of people waiting to get shoes. Both parents and children wanted more than anything to get their hands on a pair of shoes.
When I returned from my exciting but stressful trip to Egypt, the only remaining part of my actual project was the making of my documentary. It was to be a short film that focused on exposing the beautiful culture of El-Afadra to others and to show how one small act of charity can be a worthy step towards helping these happy children lead safer lives. I used footage that I had taken while in El-Afadra to put together an informational piece that briefly explained different aspects of everyday life, that starkly contrast with American culture and customs. I made about fifteen copies of my finished documentary, most of which were given to people that helped me along the way, such as principals of the three schools, helpful neighbors, and Amin Elmallah, the family friend who told me about the American Egyptian Consulate General. This was my way of thanking them for contributing to my efforts. Now when I watch and show others my documentary, I feel rewarded.
My project was inspired by the experience of a friend of my father’s. Fatthaya and her two sons now live in Cairo, but they formerly resided in El-Afadra. Before she had children, she used to take care of me when I was a baby during family vacations in Egypt. Her youngest son was killed when a scorpion bit him, compelling me to focus my project on the prevention of scorpion envenomations.
My project left an impact on several different groups. The people of El-Afadra were extremely grateful for the shoes, and even now they ask my Egyptian relatives when the “shoe boy” will return. Hopefully, the children will take up a new habit of wearing their shoes indoors and out. I am sure these shoes will be passed down to younger siblings for as long as the shoes will last. I felt the impact of my project on another group when I recently attended a meeting of the EAS, the Egyptian American Society of Northern California in Santa Clara. Before the event, I was asked by the Consulate General of Egypt, Mr. Salaheldin, to give a short presentation about my project, and then to show my movie. After the nerve-wracking experience was over, I received heartfelt support and congratulations from many people in the audience, including a big hug from the head of the Egyptian Coptic Church of Northern California. I hope I am able to continue my project in the future.

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Students at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse decided to create this project to help disadvantaged children at Mungulu Odrade Orphanage in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. They collected over 100 pairs of shoes that they are endeavoring to send to Congo. Almost 170 children at the orphanage will benefit from this initiative. Children need hope more than anything else. Hope helps overcome fears and frustrations. Hope instills courage and motivation. In a small way, but very meaningful way this project contributes to a big cause: establishing global partnerships. By donating shoes, we not only give hope, but also create better opportunities for cross-cultural cooperation that underscores our common humanity.

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We are the Advanced Placement World History class at W.R.S. High in Keene, Tx. Our class has always talked about making a difference in the world and now, we're putting our words into action. As we sat in our class one day, discussing the diseases that plague our world, we talked about how lucky we are to have things like clean water, medication/vaccines, clothes, and shoes. Talking about this made us feel selfish, and we wondered what we could give to those who aren't as lucky as us. We started talking about how we're so wasteful, and we have tons of clothes and shoes, just lying in our closets unused everyday. That's when OurSolePurpose came about. We were imediately excited at the thought of what our new organization could accomplish. Ideas flew left and right, and finally, we settled on a plan. Shoe drives, contacting other schools, other cities, businesses, and churches were a few ideas of how we could get people involved. And now, as you read this, we hope that you can embark on our journey to make a difference, one sole at a time.

You can visit our websites at , , or in spanish at

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Shoes4Africa, Inc (www.help4africa.com) is a non-profit organization that I founded last summer. Initially a county-wide, but recently international campaign, S4A accomplishes its goal through the recollection of shoes in diverse cities of the US and eight countries around the world to be shipped to the République de Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria and other African nations, where many people walk barefoot and some have never owned a pair of shoes. Wearing shoes would help them in the fight against environmentally caused diseases, cuts, scratches and parasites (such as hookworm larvae), as well as progressing in terms of world development. I founded and incorporated the non-profit in the summer of 2006. As an immigrant from Venezuela, I was exposed to the deplorable side of world poverty. After taking International Relations as a Dual Enrollment course in FIU and AP Human Geography in my sophomore year, my knowledge and understanding of underdevelopment and scarcity around the globe was refined. A combination of acquired information and experiences from my mind and ample courage and determination pushed me to strive to change what I believed to be wrong, and there wasn’t a better place to start than the world’s overcrowded shoe closets! Not only has Help4Africa ameliorated the conditions in which many not so fortunate live by providing them with shoes to walk with, but it has avoided the diffusion of the plausible unhealthy conditions and diseases that were brought along with being barefoot in places like Enugu State, Nigeria. We established a partnership with FedEx to ship shoes. Moreover, the project created young leaders in over 20 cities and seven countries that are now in charge of an important campaign in their schools and communities. It made the world ever more aware of the harsh conditions of others, inspired teens like myself to start their own campaigns and most importantly, changed my life!

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Is this about "Healthy Living"? Is it about "Fitness". Is it about "Recycling"?. Is it about "World Poverty"?... I really don't know what category to slot this into. I DO know that the world plays soccer and that in most of the world, the game is played in the streets, on dusty dirt fields and in venues that look nothing like the manicured soccer fields that most of us here in the U.S. play in. Quite often, kids are lucky to have an actual ball to play the game with as opposed to something improvised. For sure, most of these kids DON'T play the game wearing shoes of any kind.
In cleaning out our garage at my home, I pulled out eight pair of soccer shoes I had outgrown or abandoned. In my experience playing soccer, if I needed a new pair of shoes, I asked my parents for them and we went and got them the next day. That experience is fairly common with everyone on my varsity and club soccer teams. What happens to the old shoes?... Thrown away, discarded, abandoned in the closet or garage. I have to believe that this is more the rule than the exception when it comes to American kids playing soccer.
This isn't about curing cancer or ending world poverty. It's about collecting old soccer shoes that still have a lot of life left in them and sending them to a bunch of kids that are playing barefoot in the dirt... no strings attached (no politics, no lecture, no sermon). These kids are in South/Central America, Africa, and The Middle East. These soccer shoes may be the ONLY shoes that they'll ever own but they'll at least know that it's all about the common bond that can unite a really scary world through a common sport.
I just began this project December 1st but am committed to it through the rest of my Junior and Senior
high school year. I have spoken to a representative of UPS to explore shipping options and am lining up various community organizations and churches that have ties back to third world nations where the shoes will ultimately be put back in to service.

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This Christmas so many children will go without New toys, clothes and shoes. This progect is designed to provide as many children as possible with these items so that they will have a wonderful and exciting Christmas also. If you are able to donate atleast one brand new toy for a child( ages 3- 18)this year please contact me at to make arrangements to volunteer.Thank You!

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While on a trip to Argentina last year, Blake had a vision to put shoes on children's feet around the world. To date, TOMS Shoes has given away 10,000 pairs to children in Argentina and is preparing to give 50,000 pairs in South Africa.

Style Your Sole is a great time for you and your friends to get together, express yourself through your own designs and support a good cause. Whether it is the theme of your party or a community building activity (youth group, sorority, birthday party), you and your friends are putting shoes on children’s feet somewhere around the world. Wear your originally designed TOMS and tell the story!

Parties may be held anywhere (not just California)!

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Dear Friends, Since I’ve come home from my trip to Africa, I’ve really had the chance to feel the huge difference between the life we live here in the United States and the average life that is lived in Kenya, or Africa in general. Each morning, we’d get in our little white buses that drove across the country and took us through destitute little towns, but there was something that stood out to me every single time we’d pass through. There was a great number of people walking miles to their job, shoeless. There were tons of kids running around piles of rubbish and rocks without anything to cover their feet. I remember immediately thinking about the laundry basket of flip-flops I have. Or the really handy shoe organizer my mom bought me that hangs in my closet and is crammed full with tennis shoes and flats. And then, I remember thinking how I never wear at least half of those shoes that appear to be taking over my closet. So instead of receiving gifts for my birthday, on top of everything I got for graduation, I figure I’ll do things differently. If you were planning on giving me a gift, or even if you weren’t, dig through your closet or run to the store and give me a pair of shoes instead. The only qualifications are that they have to be shoes you can imagine walking for at least 5 miles in without falling apart or getting blisters. So flip flops and tennis shoes work great. Even gently used shoes from the depths of your closet are what I want for my birthday. Also, bring shoes of all sizes. If your 3-year old brother can’t fit into his Spiderman shoes anymore, please don’t hesitate to hand them over! This shoe drive will be going on until the end of August, when I’ll ship them off to a few different people I’ve connected with in Kenya, who will then distribute them for free to those who have no shoes. This would be more than a great birthday present for me, a good chance for you to free up some closet space, but mostly it would make a long walk a lot less difficult for people in Kenya. Please help me kick off this Summer Shoe Drive by dropping off my ‘present’ in a bag at my house, or call me and I can swing by and pick it up. My cell phone number is [personal information edited out by DS staff]. Thank you. Love, Sarah

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Dear Friends,

Since I’ve come home from my trip to Africa, I’ve really had the chance to feel the huge difference between the life we live here in the United States and the average life that is lived in Kenya, or Africa in general. Each morning, we’d get in our little white buses that drove across the country and took us through destitute little towns, but there was something that stood out to me every single time we’d pass through. There was a great number of people walking miles to their job, shoeless. There were tons of kids running around piles of rubbish and rocks without anything to cover their feet. I remember immediately thinking about the laundry basket of flip-flops I have. Or the really handy shoe organizer my mom bought me that hangs in my closet and is crammed full with tennis shoes and flats. And then, I remember thinking how I never wear at least half of those shoes that appear to be taking over my closet.

So instead of receiving gifts for my birthday, on top of everything I got for graduation, I figure I’ll do things differently. If you were planning on giving me a gift, or even if you weren’t, dig through your closet or run to the store and give me a pair of shoes instead. The only qualifications are that they have to be shoes you can imagine walking for at least 5 miles in without falling apart or getting blisters. So flip flops and tennis shoes work great. Even gently used shoes from the depths of your closet are what I want for my birthday. Also, bring shoes of all sizes. If your 3-year old brother can’t fit into his Spiderman shoes anymore, please don’t hesitate to hand them over!

This shoe drive will be going on until the end of August, when I’ll ship them off to a few different people I’ve connected with in Kenya, who will then distribute them for free to those who have no shoes. This would be more than a great birthday present for me, a good chance for you to free up some closet space, but mostly it would make a long walk a lot less difficult for people in Kenya.

Please help me kick off this Summer Shoe Drive by dropping off my ‘present’ in a bag at my house, or call me and I can swing by and pick it up.
My cell phone number is (573)-424-7980. Thank you.

Love,
Sarah

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Please donate your “gently” used children’s clothes Kindergarten through 6th grade Jeans, pants, shirts, skirts, pajamas, winter hats, winter gloves, winter jackets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shoes, belts, hair ties, new socks, new underwear (boxers for the boys), new bras. Our goal is to provide at least one "gently used" complete outfit for each of the children at the Pappas School in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1989, a group of Phoenix firefighters arranged for 8 homeless children to attend a tutoring class in a local shelter. From there they moved to a nearby hotel. It soon became obvious that there were many more homeless children not in school. City leaders called Dr. Sandra E. Dowling, the Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools, to see if she could develop this small program into a school. In 1990, Dr. Dowling founded the Thomas J. Pappas School for children of homeless families. An old car dealership was renovated and became the building for the first school. In 1997, the current Thomas J. Pappas Elementary School was built. It now houses Kindergarten through 5th Grade. There is also a Head Start program operating on campus. The old location is now the Thomas J. Pappas Middle School, and houses Grades 6 through 9 and High School, Grades 10 through 12. ~ At the end of the day Pappas children are bused back "home". Sometimes the family's location has changed by the end of the school day, requiring the Outreach Department of the Pappas schools to make sure each child returns safely to their current nighttime residence. The following morning, we start all over again. We are only able to provide all of these services with the generous support of our donors.