|
 What
started in the spring of 2003 as an effort to provide school shoes for 10
young students living on farmland 26 miles southwest of Nairobi soon became
an effort to provide shoes for the children of an entire community near
Kiserian, Kenya.
Inspired by the needs of a young girl named Derina and
her desire for shoes to wear to school, the Shoes
for Derina shoe drive was kicked off by
 Moja Moja
in April in both Seattle and Boston. Participating in Seattle were
employees from Casey Family Programs; Cairncross &
Hempelmann, P.S.; students from King's High School;
and the University Presbyterian Church's Joy Bells Sunday School Class;
as well as individuals from both the Seattle and Boston areas. World
Relief in Seattle also sponsored additional shoe purchases.
 The
response was overwhelming! Both new shoes and excellent quality used
shoes were donated, as well as cash donations. Additional new shoes
were then purchased in both Seattle
and Nairobi. Thanks to our donors, thus far,
Moja Moja has been able to
 distribute over 100
pairs of shoes in both Kibera and in the farming community near Kiserian.
Thanks so much to each donor!
The excitement and pure joy that these shoes provided to
the children was only exceeded by the pride of the parents, seeing their
child in their new shoes. The distribution day in Kiserian quickly became a
huge community event, with parents leaving work as word spread, to rush
their children to the distribution site, which soon took on all the feelings
and excitement of a traveling circus. Derina (above and showing her
feet at top) was especially proud to
have the shoe
drive named in her honor and to be given the first pair of brand new shoes,
something she had never owned before. She
expressed her deep thanks to strangers, so far away, that cared enough to
send her a
new pair of shoes for school. |
