‘One Day Without Shoes’ without money
GO BAREFOOT: One day Without Shoes will is happening at the library lawns all day today.
Photo: Lameez Omarjee
Despite collecting close to 1000 pairs of shoes for underprivileged kids in last year’s One Day Without Shoes, this year’s event at Wits was organised with no finances.
The Wits One Day Without Shoes 2014 event, happening today, April 29, on the library lawns, is a global awareness day for children who do not have shoes.
Participants spend a day without shoes on their feet as they go about their daily activities. They are also encouraged to donate a pair of shoes to the initiative. This year though, the organising committee found themselves relying on donations to make the event a reality.
“We got lots of donations, like the stickers were donated,” said Wayne Mahlanga, a member of the organising team. Jo Anne Tomlinson, also a part of the team, said it was difficult to organise the event without a budget.
Tomlinson hopes this year’s event will raise enough interest to continue the legacy of the initiative once she graduates. The money made from selling stickers will go towards next year’s budget, to make it easier for the organisers, she said.
“Karuna Singh, Wits Citizenship Community Outreach (Wits CCO) manager was supportive and got so many people involved,” said Tomlinson. “She got us everything we needed from Wits,” said Mahlanga.
The team also received significant assistance from theStudent Development and Leadership Unit (SDLU).
The event today hopes to get as many donations as possible but it also intends to raise awareness among Witsies about kids who cannot afford a pair of shoes.
