More than 2 800 children now have school shoes thanks to a growing initiative sparked by a first-time runner who saw creative possibilities in turning kilometres into a way to meeting a basic educational need.
“My background is in higher education, and I was surprised to learn how many of the students walked to school without proper footwear when they were younger. When I took up running last year at the age of 60, the idea came to me: ‘What if every kilometre I ran could put a pair of shoes on a kid’s feet?’” says Craig Rowe, who leads CDR Equipping, a non-profit company focused on community development, leadership training and mentorship, among other community upliftment and ministry-related outreach projects.
As I set out on the Two Oceans Half Marathon, I tripped and faceplanted into the ground …
What started as one man’s idea to encourage businesses and friends to sponsor a pair of “My Walk Made with Soul” school shoes for each kilometre of his first Two Oceans half marathon has since germinated into a network of support that has already donated nearly R100 000 worth of shoes, benefitting almost three thousand children across South Africa so far.
“As I set out on the Two Oceans Half Marathon, I tripped and faceplanted into the ground. I was bleeding, but a fellow runner kindly offered me a tissue, and I kept going. I was determined to complete the race, knowing that those kids needed their shoes,” Craig remembers.
Word of Craig’s kilometres for school shoe donations soon reached other members of the running community, and more people dedicated their runs to helping raise funds for underprivileged children to receive shoes. Donations were flowing through the Love Cities community initiatives, where Craig serves as national partnership lead.
The shoes themselves tell an interesting story. The innovative upcycling programme reclaims high-quality polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from uncontaminated, safe healthcare waste, such as drip bags and tubing, collected from participating Netcare hospitals, in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
This PVC is diverted from landfill and upcycled to make My Walk Made with Soul school shoes that are shiny, comfortable, and durable, protecting children’s feet from harsh terrain, sharp objects, and biting cold.
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Brings dignity to thousands of children
Through partnerships with donors, ranging from individuals such as Craig to religious and civil organisations and businesses large and small, over 418 432 pairs of My Walk Made with Soul school shoes have been donated to children throughout South Africa since the innovative project started in 2020.
“Without proper shoes, children risk cuts, infections, and injury, and ill-fitting or worn-out shoes can also cause long-term foot problems, affecting their physical development and mobility. This represents a major obstacle for children’s education,” says Delanie Bezuidenhout, general manager of My Walk Made with Soul.
“You’d be surprised how much a pair of shoes affects a child’s education. With shoes on their feet, children are more likely to attend school consistently, concentrate better in class, and participate fully in school life. We have seen what a simple pair of shoes means for a child in quintile one and two schools, where these necessities remain out of reach for many families.”
To date, over 166 586kg of PVC, collected from drip bags and tubing at participating hospitals has been safely sorted and diverted from landfill to give new life to the school shoe project.
