By Mitch Lewis | Executive Director
Let me begin by expressing how very grateful we are to all of you, our wonderful donors. We are so thrilled to be a GlobalGiving partner and it is your generosity that has made this happen. Your support will allow us to bring relief to many of the world’s barefoot children. The project began as we visited schools in the U.S to raise awareness among students. After learning of the severe hardships that barefoot children are enduring, the American students each make a pair of KLEM shoes (similar to those being made in Africa) and wear them for a month. This allows them to become advocates and spokespersons for these children. After their advocacy action, the shoes are sanitized and sent to our partners in Africa.
Latest News
Here are some of the exciting things that are happening with the project:
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has posted our project on their website under the category “Character Matters.”
The Industrial Design students at NC State University have joined our project. Their challenge is create designs that can be made in Africa, using locally sourced materials, by women with no prior experience. Each of the students is designing 2 pair of shoes. One is to aid the children who are going barefoot. The second shoe will be more upscale and intended to be marketed to help the communities fund a sustainable model for economic empowerment and a pathway out of poverty.
Our North Carolina Rotary has selected Heeling Our World as their District Project. This will allow us to reach thousands of students.
We worked with our first middle school students. They are from the Beaufort Middle School in Beaufort, NC, USA. Please watch this short (4 minute video) of their participation. http://youtu.be/tVR9K4NzCUw
Latest from Mozambique
In Mozambique we have partnered with “Movement” a wonderful organization that shares our passion about using the power of art to make the world a better place. They are laying the groundwork for our first workshop which is scheduled for this Summer. They are visiting villages and selecting our initial entry point. As they speak to the women who will be learning to make the shoes, they are hearing many stories about their children. Some are heartbreaking, but all of the stories reinforce the importance of the work that your donations are making possible. We will be sharing some of these stories in our next report.
GlobalGiving Bonus Day-
Since you are receiving this report, you have donated to our project in the past few months and I would not be comfortable in asking you to contribute again so soon. However, if you have family or friends that you think may be interested in supporting our project, I would be most appreciative if you would give them the link to our project-
http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/http-making-shoes-for-barefoot-children-in-mozambique/
A great day to support us is Wednesday, March 18th. This is a GlobalGiving Bonus Day and they are matching donations up to $1,000 per donor per project at 30%. There is $60,000 available in matching funds. Matching begins at 9:00:01 EDT and lasts until funds run out or 23:59:59 EDT.
Thank you so much for being a part of our team.
Best,
Mitch
Links:
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