Our Shoes and Roland Rudd, the headmaster of St Andrew’s School in Bloemfontein, have teamed up to help more children get new shoes.
Bloemfontein, South Africa (01 July 2024) – St Andrew’s Headmaster Roland Rudd (an incredible tooth-fairy hero) has been a local Trustee of Our Shoes, a non-profit from Ireland, that works to collect shoes for children in need. Roland reached out to share the incredible work that is being done in his hometown of Bloemfontein thanks to Our Shoes.
The initiative is the collective effort of thousands of families and schools across Ireland, proving how small acts of kindness can have a profound impact. Each child brings in a pair of gently-used shoes to donate to children in South Africa. This way, thousands (and we mean thousands – earlier this year 20,000 pairs were donated to Cape Town children) of shoes find loving new homes on the feet of underprivileged children.
Our Shoes, conceived by Irishman Ciarán McHugh and London-based businessman Kevin Grant, originally from Bloemfontein, aims to tackle the issue of South African township children going barefoot. This initiative has grown from a simple concept into a widespread campaign, sending thousands of pre-loved shoes to those in need.
The campaign has resonated deeply within the Irish community, garnering support from children, parents, and educators alike. Schools have embraced the initiative, fostering a culture of generosity and appreciation among students.
We asked Mr Rudd what his favourite part of handing out these shoes was, and for him, it was how they totally changed the children’s demeanour.
“When we visit the underprivileged communities, the children are excited at the prospect of getting a pair of shoes to take home with them. The young sportsmen and women immediately go and try out their shoes/trainers or boots on the dust-laden fields. A young barefoot girl of around 3 years old stood before me crying, and was given a pair of brand new blue and pink shoes. The elders around her celebrated her new shoes, and she proudly displayed her new shoes – tears dried and a smile on her face.
Thinking back to when I was a little boy, I recall the excitement of having my parents take me to buy a pair of new boots ahead of the season—what a feeling. Sporting those new boots lifted my spirit and made me feel like Maradona on the field. Every child deserves to have the same experience.”
Mr Rudd is getting excited about the future. They have big dreams of reaching 50,000 children in the coming months and even more in the years to come.
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“The Our Shoes Campaign is on the go in Ireland, with children from schools donating pre-loved shoes. The campaign has grown from 500 pairs of shoes, to 5,000, to 20,000 and we are hoping to get to 50,000 in the next campaign and eventually 100,000 pairs of shoes on a yearly basis. Can one imagine getting 100,000 pairs of shoes on children walking to school barefoot, or boots on the next Siya Kolisi, or Bafana or Protea player or a pair of shoes on the next medical doctor, lawyer or scientist? If your feet don’t have shoes, we want to put shoes on your feet.”
If you would like to take part, you can email Liza-Anne Meyer at St Andrew’s School here.
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