Help Build a Future for IDP Women & Children

Ever so often you have to hit the pause button and reflect on the effectiveness of your strategic mission. The Summer is a great time for the Heeling Our World program to undertake this reflection of our work in Africa. Many of our leaders are visiting the U.S. which gives us the opportunity for extended dialogue and assessment. It is also a chance for strategic planning as we prepare to open our first drop-in clinic in Bamako, Mali. This facility will be treating the medically underserved street children of Bamako, with an emphasis on foot problems caused by going barefoot. We have been blessed to have secured pro bono services from a number of dedicated, caring doctors and nurses in Bamako. We have filed for the necessary government permits and are awaiting approval. The facility will also serve as a training facility for children to learn to make shoes for themselves.

In the U.S., Heeling Our World is continuing to hold workshops where volunteers make shoes for children in orphanages in Mali, Uganda and Sierra Leonne. We run these workshops for schools, service organizations, and religious institutions. At our latest workshop 137 volunteers produced over 300 pairs of shoes in various stages of completion. The finished shoes are being shipped to Mbale, Uganda. The rest will be completed at a subsequent workshop.