A Day Without Shoes

In our society today, we don’t think of shoes as a necessity. They are a fashion item. They are the staple that pull together our outfits or that comfort item that keeps our arches from hurting. No outfit is complete without shoes.Somehow with all of our other clothes on, you can still feel exposed and slightly naked without shoes.

But for many people in developing countries, including Uganda, shoes aren’t an item of fashion; they are an item of hygiene and health. In these countries, which also have infested pools of water and unpaved roadways, shoes can be life or death. Going barefoot everywhere can have serious health implications, including contraction of soil-transmitted diseases, infection, parasites, and serious injury.

TOMS shoes, the shoes brand known for its “one for one” mission, in which they give a child in a developing nation a pair of shoes for every shoe that is purchased by the Western world, has started a movement to raise awareness of these issues, called “One Day Without Shoes.” For “One Day Without Shoes,” advocates around the Western world pledge to go a day without shoes to raise awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life by taking off their own shoes for the entire day.

April 5th, today, is TOMS shoes’ “One Day Without Shoes.” Our entire office has taken the challenge, so our office is filled with the pitter-patter of naked toes. Considering we are staffed in a carpeted office that is temperature controlled, we can’t really understand the true pain that children that go day in and day out with shoes experience. So far, we can just complain that our tootsies are a little cold or that we forgot to get a pedicure for this day of exposed feet.

Even when we get off work or out of the office, we will not truly understand the burden of no shoes. We won’t walk miles home or even across the road to get lunch. Even if we walk inside stores and the dreaded public restroom, we will still know in the back of our minds that we will be privy to a hot shower and a foot scrub this evening. We won’t be worried with each step along our well paved sidewalks that we might be simultaneously contracting a potentially deadly disease. Even if we do contract such a disease, we will know that we are just a car ride and co-pay away from a tiny pill that will cure us, another comfort that the third-world isn’t as lucky to have.

As we brave stumped toes, sore arches, and dirty feet, we are more thankful for our beloved footwear. We encourage you to bare your paws for this day, just to be constantly reminded, at least for today, of the struggles that people, especially children, in third-world nations. And if your daily life is prohibitive of such an action, like if health codes in your workplace require footwear, please consider why those rules and health codes are in place.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters and advocates for ensuring that our children are fully provided for, including shoes on their feet and proper hygiene and medical care to ensure they don’t have to struggle with these issues any longer. Thank you for making the difference in the lives of the close to 1,000 children we care for!

Because of Calvary,

Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries