FEET. Tiny, cold, battered, feet, standing on a concrete courtyard…
This picture was magnified 400km south of Windhoek at the Mukorob Primary School, on 1 June 2011, when six St Paul’s College students together with their teacher, handed over almost 200 gift boxes to the school.
The Shoebox Project, initiated by Mrs Cloete in 2010, as she noticed the need for basic stationery in various rural schools, expanded in 2011 to provide basic living materials.
Students at St Paul’s College were approached to make up individual gifts of winter supplies often taken for granted. A beanie, scarf, gloves, face cloth, toothpaste, tooth brush, jelly sweets and words of motivation were included in the shoebox. Each of the 179 scholars also received a blanket, a packet of chips, sweets and an orange. The blankets were bought with money kindly donated by the 2010 SMC of the College.
We were also able to provide a healthy supply of rice, flour, samp and soup to the school’s hostel, as well as some general medication (e.g. multivitamin syrup) to help boost and protect the children’s immune systems against the bitter winter.
The generosity and interest of St Paul’s College pupils and parents has propelled the Shoebox Project to include two further schools this year. Many thanks go to every person that has contributed, including the Erasmus, Edmonds and Schumann families who made substantial donations.
Araya Berhe, Kara Cloete, Catherine Edmunds, Alexander Erasmus, Svenja Schumann, and Byron Chikwanda accompanied Mrs Cloete to the Mukorob Primary School.
Even though not a single child possessed an entire school uniform, the school was unified in harmonious song. The children stood tall as they lifted their voices before their visitors and even taller, as Mrs Cloete shared a message of hope and dignity. It was then that I noticed their feet. They stood on a concrete block, some with school shoes, some with sandals and others with the soles of their feet on the ground.
Perhaps these humble beginnings of The Shoebox Project will extend further to include socks and shoes for the bare feet in our Nation.
Feet, tiny, cold, battered, feet, standing on a concrete courtyard…

click to enlarge ©