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Target beneficiaries

A Million Barefoot Journeys
and One Small Step that Changes Everything

In South Africa, a child’s walk to school often begins long before the sun rises — not just in time, but in effort, resilience, and hope. For many, it begins barefoot - these are the children we serve. They live in the quiet corners of deep rural areas, in informal settlements, and in townships where poverty has a firm grip on daily life. They attend schools classified as Quintile 1 and 2, the poorest of South Africa’s public schools where fees are waived because families simply cannot afford them, and where children rely on the school not just for learning, but for their only daily meals.

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Numbers That Speak Volumes

Out of South Africa’s 15.8 million children aged 0–14, an estimated 9.2 million grow up in the country’s bottom two economic quintiles. That’s nearly 60% of all children — living in circumstances marked by high unemployment, limited infrastructure, and few opportunities.

  • In Quintile 1 schools — where around 4.6 million children are enrolled — families face extreme poverty. Schools are often overcrowded and under-resourced, with weak performance and high dropout rates.
  • In Quintile 2 schools — home to another 4.6 million learners — conditions are slightly better, but still challenging. Poverty is still high, and infrastructure remains basic.

And in these communities, school shoes are often a luxury — not a given.

A Pair of Shoes, A Step Towards Hope

At My Walk Made with Soul, we see the stories behind the statistics. We meet the children who walk long distances each day on gravel, tar, and dust with nothing on their feet but determination. We hear the quiet shame in voices too young to understand why their classmates tease them for having no shoes. And we witness the silent pride when they are handed a brand-new pair — made just for them.
For these children, school shoes aren’t just something to wear — they are protection, confidence, and dignity. Shoes shield their feet from injury and illness, but they also shield their spirits from exclusion. They help children walk taller, sit prouder, and dream bigger.

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Not Just a Gift — A Turning Point

Each pair of shoes we deliver is thoughtfully created from recycled medical waste, turning yesterday’s plastic into today’s promise. They go to learners who need them most — in schools where infrastructure may be crumbling, but hope still lives. With shoes on their feet, children are more likely to attend school consistently, concentrate better in class, and participate fully in school life. A simple pair of shoes helps break the cycle of poverty, one learner at a time.

A Movement for Millions

Our mission is clear: to reach every child who walks to school without shoes — beginning with the millions in Quintile 1 and 2 communities. While a single pair of shoes may seem small, for a child who has gone without, it can mean the world. These are our beneficiaries — not just numbers in a survey, but future scientists, leaders, teachers, and builders of a better South Africa.
And with every step they take, we walk beside them.

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