"I feel rich"

On average, a woman in the UK owns 20 pairs of shoes! Chaltu is now a young woman in our Bekoji Children’s Village in Ethiopia, before coming to Stand by Me she could have never imagined owning one good pair of shoes – much less 20 pairs!

Chaltu’s life necessitated a three mile walk to school every day and long trips to gather food and water. As she stumbled over rocky paths she longed for some shoes. Not shiny shoes with pretty bows in nice colours or with designer names but shoes that would shield her from infection and disease. In Ethiopia alone, approximately one million people suffer from Podoconiosis, a form of elephantitis caused by walking barefoot on volcanic soil, like many diseases caught from walking barefoot it is completely preventable by wearing shoes. However, for Chaltu and many like her, a pair of new shoes was just a dream.

When Chaltu came to live in the Bekoji Children’s Village everything changed, she found a family, an education and was given her first pair of shoes by Ahmad our Projects Director.

“When I received the first pair of shoes from Ahmad I feel rich.”

A new pair of shoes can make a child feel rich beyond their imagination. We want to give this feeling to every single one of our children in our care across the world, visit our Shoes Christmas Appeal here.