Kind Hearts Kids to get NEW SHOES!!

I take shoes for granted. Most of us have several pairs (if not several dozen pairs) in our closet. But imagine not having shoes ... or not having shoes that fit ... and walking to school every day through mud, and dust and dirt, sharp stones, broken glass and thorny bushes.

Our kids at Kind Hearts in Ethiopia know what it is like to not have shoes. To them ... shoes are a luxury!

Their clothing too, is tattered and torn, dirty and stained. The pictures we get of our kids show them wearing the same clothing day after day. Most likely, the clothes they are wearing ... are the only clothes they have. When they go home after school ... they don't change into their "play clothes". They don't get to take a bath and then change into their pajamas for bedtime. Most of them fall asleep on a dirt floor in the same clothing they wore all day.

The dirt and the stains we see? Water too is a luxury ... and must be used for important things like drinking and cooking, not for baths or washing clothes. So if their clothes get too dirty, they can rinse them in a puddle ... but not in the nearby river because it is polluted with toxic and poisonous chemicals.

My friend, Kari Gibson, recently partnered with Hopechest to raise funds with her "Shirts for Shoes" Valentine's Day campaign. Her "Simply Love Africa" shirts are super-cute and I was happy to buy one knowing they were for a great cause. For every t-shirt purchased, an orphan in Ethiopia would get a pair of shoes and a shirt! Many of our Kind Hearts sponsors bought t-shirts as well. Never realizing that the shirts we bought would DIRECTLY benefit our Kind Hearts kids!!!!

Our Kind Hearts kids are being measured for shoes next week. Not a flimsy pair of plastic or rubber shoes that hardly last a month in the rugged terrain of Ethiopia. But a sturdy pair of leather shoes with nice, thick soles and laces. Ahhhhhh - what luxury! And they will get a new shirt as well. A clean, new shirt. Can you imagine their joy and excitement???? I can imagine it ... I've seen them cry tears of joy over a pencil and notebook! They will be so proud and so happy to have NEW SHOES!!!!

Right now, there are 68 kids at Kind Hearts in Ethiopia. ALL of our kids are sponsored and are feeling the impact of the love, financial support and prayers of their sponsors. More children will begin attending Kind Hearts soon ... if you are interested in sponsoring a child ($34/month provides food, clothing, education, medical care and Christian discipleship), please contact me at kjwistrom@yahoo.com.