One Day Without Shoes

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days...

Last year's One Day Without Shoes...with my fellow Youth for Christers.

Okay, so maybe it is a little bit due to the fact that I am somewhat of a hippie at heart, but mostly I love it because it is a day to raise awareness about the 300 million children around the world who do not own a single pair of shoes, and the health hazards that accompany that.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, April 5, 2011) is One Day Without Shoes. A day that you get to walk around barefoot as much as possible, get tons of crazy looks from people, and share with them about the children who go without everyday, and how they can help.

One Day Without Shoes is hosted by Tom's Shoes, a for profit company who gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need for every single pair that is purchased. Tom's Shoes also partners with Compassion International, which, if you've been around here very long, you know it is one of my favorite and most respected organizations on planet earth.

If you would like to join us tomorrow, below are some of the facts you will need to know, as well as ways to help.

The Facts (why shoes are a big deal):

*A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.

*Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.


*Many times children can’t attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don’t have shoes, they don’t go to school. If they don’t receive an education, they don’t have the opportunity to realize their potential. (taken from http://blog.compassion.com/join-us-for-one-day-without-shoes/)

* According to Samaritan's Feet, approximately one million people die each year due to diseases, parasites, and infections caused by lack of shoes.

Ways to help (awesome organizations who help provide shoes for children in need):

Tom's Shoes- matches pair for pair- one pair of shoes is given away for each pair purchased.

Samaritan's' Feet- blesses people around the world through washing their feet and then providing them with a new pair of shoes.

Shoes for Kids- started by a kid for kids...providing shoes with the love of Christ to children around the world.

The feetsies of some of my Zim kids (they all have shoes now, incase you were wondering :)

I feel privileged to be a voice for kids around the world, and I hope that you will take this opportunity to speak up as well!

Have you ever gone One Day Without? Do you plan on going One Day Without tomorrow? Any great, funny, or just plain embarrassing One Day Without stories to share? Here is my experience from last year's One Day Without Shoes.

Was it Worth it?

A couple days ago I went One Day Without Shoes.

Did it really do any good? Was is really worth all the weird looks?

I would like to think so.

I have been on spring break this last week, so I did not go to work barefoot, but I did spend the morning at Youth for Christ. It was great! Most of the office joined in, and we printed out little info strips to hand out to people we encountered throughout the day.

There were several people I know who I saw throughout the day. When they didn't mention anything about me being barefoot, I asked them if they were curious as to why I wasn't wearing shoes. One person told me they assumed it was "some kind of people who love Africa thing," and I was told by another that they didn't think anything of it, because I am kind of a hippie. I will take those comments as compliments, thank you very much :)

So, throughout the day I was given the opportunity to share the cause with many, even with some women at my church. (Yes, I went to church barefoot)

Throughout the day I was able to share the facts about there being over 300 million children in the world who don't wear shoes, and the health effects of that. Perfectly enough, part of our study topic that evening at church was THANKFULNESS. The conversation came back around to the things we take for granted, and I got to share even more about some things I experienced on the mission field.

One thing that shocked me throughout the day was that everything I was saying seemed to be brand new information to a lot of people...even Christian people.

I love raising awareness about poverty, but I use to get so frustrated at things people didn't know. I eventually realized all that did was turn people away, so I prayed for a change of heart. I have to tell you that now it just makes me so sad. Being the church, we should know about the poor, because how are we going to love them if we don't even know about them?

So I shared with them a few things going on in our world that many of us have been sheltered from. And now I am praying for more opportunities to share with them in a loving and meaningful way.

So, was it worth it?

Yes.

Are there still over 300 million children in the world who do not own a pair of shoes?

Yes.

But the good news is that we can do something about it. Check out how at Toms shoes and Samaritan's Feet


The Fresno/Madera Youth for Christ crew going One Day Without.

Barefoot

I'm not wearing shoes today...and you shouldn't either. Go barefoot for the day and raise awareness about the 300 million children in our world who do not own a pair of shoes.


Not only is going barefoot day after day painful (especially when many of these kids must walk miles daily just for water), but it also leaves children vulnerable to parasites and disease, often which are deadly.


Go to Onedaywithoutshoes.com for more info, because the whole point is to raise awareness. And while you are there you should stop over at Tom's and buy some shoes...Toms matches pair for pair....meaning when you buy a pair of shoes, a child without recieves a pair of shoes.


Pretty awesome.