One Village, a non-profit organisation in Jeffreys Bay, in conjunction with Adcock Ingram, recently donated 6 000 pairs of new school shoes to underprivileged learners across the Kouga region.
The much-needed shoes were purchased by Adcock Ingram as part of their innovative MyWalk initiative, which was put in place by Adcock Ingram Critical Care – the biggest supplier of PVC drip bags in South Africa – and Netcare on February 5, 2020.
The initiative turns used uncontaminated PVC drip bags, oxygen masks and associated tubing into premium-quality school shoes.
In this process millions of used materials, destined for landfill, are collected by a small organisation from hospitals and transported to a recycling plant where the material is washed and granulated into smaller pieces.
These pieces are melted at very high temperatures, mixed with additives to colour them black, and turned into small black pellets.
The pellets are then processed by MyWalk’s shoemaking equipment, resulting in brand new school shoes – which are fully recyclable.
Shoelaces are added and the shoes are packed, ready to be distributed to learners.
According to Evelyn Markides from One Village, shoes were donated to learners in Jeffreys Bay, Hankey, Patensie, Loerie, and Thornhill.
Various homes for children in Gqeberha and East London also received shoes.
“One Village still have some shoes available for distribution,” said Markides.
“If you know of anyone in need of school shoes, send an e-mail to onevillagejbay@gmail.com.”
Businesses which would like to purchase school shoes for distribution, can send an email to investor.relations@adcock.com.
