Underprivileged kids get ‘growing shoes’

About 50 under-privileged children studying in Nav Srijan, a school run by Seth M.R. Jaipuria School here, are now proud owners of shoes that will grow with them.

An innovation of Nairobi’s Kenton Lee, the shoes come with adjustable buckles and a strap on the toe that helps it expand to five sizes. Mr Lee got the idea when he once saw a small girl walking to the church, wearing shoes that were too small for her and caused considerable discomfort.

The New Year gift for the children in Nav Srijan school, however, came from Anam Zaidi, a psychologist, who started a fundraising campaign to buy growing shoes for slum kids in April last year.

“I read an article on the ‘Shoe That Grows’ in the social media. Without any clue of how I would get it, I posted a status on Facebook seeking financial support. The response was overwhelming and we could raise money for 50 such shoes”, she said.

Ms Zaidi believes that the shoe can protect children from infections due to cuts and scrapes on their feet. “The children come from economically weak backgrounds and their parents cannot afford to buy them new shoes when they outgrow the old ones. As a result, these children walk barefoot which exposes them to cuts and infections,” she informed.

Ms Zaidi’s post on Facebook invited the attention of a generous donor from the US who got in touch with Kenton Lee and Anam Zaidi and donated money for 300 pairs of the growing shoes.

“The lady who donated the money had lost her husband who was a cobbler. She saw our fundraising campaign and wanted to help us in speeding up the process. We placed our orders in July”, said Ms Zaidi.

The bigger challenge was getting the shoes delivered to India and it was here that some students of Seattle Pacific University, who were travelling to Delhi in December, chipped in with help.