Frank Steyn ran a 56km marathon in stiff leather school shoes to raise awareness about all the children in the Cape Flats that go without shoes.
Cape Town, South Africa – Some would say running the 56km Two Oceans Ultra Marathon is as gruelling as it gets, but Frank Steyn, the local general manager of the Amsterdam-based Run4Schools Foundation, had rather more lofty ideals when he ran the whole race in school shoes. The feet-punishing endeavour was completed by Frank as part of his Two Oceans Marathon fundraising campaign in aid of barefoot learners on the Cape Flats.
Now, thanks to MySchool My Village My Planet, Frank’s dream of kitting out hundreds of Western Cape learners with quality leather school shoes is about to become a reality.
On the 19th of September, MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet, in conjunction with the Woolworths technical team, undertook a foot measuring and shoe-sizing exercise at Alpine Primary in Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain. This to ensure that the correct shoe size and optimal fit would be procured for each recipient learner. They were assisted by the Run4Schools Foundation and Two Oceans Marathon staff in this exercise.
Thanks to the generosity of MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet, ‘the runner in school shoes’ will be able to more than double the number of shoes he initially would have been able to purchase from the funds raised in support of his run.
“When we heard Frank’s inspiring story, we immediately wanted to assist and increase the impact, to get a pair of quality school shoes to as many learners as possible. We’re thrilled to have partnered up with Run4Schools Foundation and the Two Oceans Marathon, to make this a possibility. We believe that every child deserves the quality and comfort to excel in their everyday lives,” says Trish Kowo, MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet’s Marketing and CSI Manager.
The high-quality leather school footwear will be distributed to vulnerable learners in areas such as Mitchells Plain, Langa, Bonteheuwel and Khayelitsha.
It is expected that more than 1 000 learners will be the lucky recipients of a pair of premium school shoes once the final consignment of footwear has been made to specification.
“Putting my feet on the line was a privilege,” says Frank. “I was overwhelmed by the initial support on GivenGain, the Two Oceans Marathon fundraising platform, and even more so now that MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet has made possible this major shoe rollout for underprivileged Cape Flats learners.”
The official shoe handover takes place at 9 am on 11 October 2019, Northwood Primary. Stay tuned, we shall bring you an update soon.
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