Most of the kids do not have shoes. Those that do have shoes, most likely picked them out of the trash or inherited a pair that were passed down from multiple other children, and they are literally falling apart on their feet.
When I was in Ethiopia in December, I took several photos of the kids' shoes - just to be able to show everyone what the kids are wearing.
It is shocking when I compare this situation with my kids here at home - who have many pairs of shoes - shoes for school, shoes for sports, shoes for church and shoes for play. And when their shoes get too worn or scuffed, or too small, we throw them out and get a new pair.
How different my kids shoe situation is here - compared to the kids at the care-points, who consider a pair of shoes to be a luxury.
And they wear them until they fall apart on their feet, because the alernative is to be bare-foot, and it's not a good alternative. The ground is rough and rocky. Broken glass and thorn bushes leave their feet bruised and bloody, and open to infection.
Friday - we set up the SHOE fund for the kids at Trees of Glory ($18 per pair of shoes - good quality, leather lace-up shoes with rugged soles that are meant to last as long as the child can wear them!).
The fund was initially seeded by two sponsor families, who expressed an interested in getting the kids shoes as soon as possible. And by Saturday night, another sponsor family finished the SHOE fund by donating enough money to buy the remaining 61 pairs of shoes!!!!! ALL 84 KIDS AT "TREES OF GLORY" CARE-POINT WILL BE GETTING NEW SHOES!!! As soon as we get pictures of the kids getting measured and receiving their new shoes, we'll post them here!
Our next project that we need to focus on is getting teachers hired and their salaries covered, so that we can open a school at Trees of Glory care-point. Our goal is to open the school by September! The entire monthly salary for both teachers is $250 ($140 for the head teacher, and $110 for the assistant teacher).
If you are interested in "sponsoring" a teacher and covering their monthly salary (of if you would be interested in committing to a monthly portion of $50 or $25), please contact me at kjwistrom@yahoo.com. We have two families that cover these monthly expenses at "Kind Hearts" care-point (and correspond with the teachers), and we need to do the same for "Trees of Glory". EDUCATION for these kids is of utmost importance, as it means the difference between a life of grinding poverty, and one of opportunity!! Please spread the word about this opportunity!
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