Today’s guest post comes from Sole Hope Storyteller, Jamie Ivey, who spent time with us in Uganda. Go HERE to read the posts from all the storytellers in one place.
I hosted my first shoe cutting party for Sole Hope about a week before I left on my trip. I was super excited to be able to do this before I actually visited Sole Hope because I knew I would get to see the entire process from shoe party to shoe placing. I know so many times you participate in things that you are told are making a difference, but you actually never get to see the final product. So I’m here to tell you that hosting a shoe cutting party is LIFE CHANGING for the people in Uganda that Sole Hope ministers to.
Sole Hope makes this process super easy for you as the host, and when you receive your shoe cutting party kit you have everything you need to know to make hosting super simple and straight forward. When we pulled out our kit, I played the video for my family a few days before the actual party and my kids were in awe of what we were looking at. Kids their age unable to properly walk because the infestation of jiggers was so bad in their feet. Kids like them without access to basic medical care. Kids like them without access to shoes. Kids just like them, yet so different.
I invited basically everyone I had ever talked to in life (yes – over invite!!) and knew that the perfect people would show up. It was Spring Break at our school, and so I was honored to host some of my kids best friends from school and their momma’s as we cut out patterns. What a joy to see the kids involved in this process right alongside their moms.
Before traveling to Uganda I would have believed that these shoes made a difference, but I actually didn’t have the slightest clue about the spectrum of the difference cutting up a pair of old jeans could actually make.
After my party, I mailed all of the shoes back to the stateside office, but snuck one set in my bag and took it all the way around the world so that I could see first hand what happens to those old jeans we cut up in my living room one rainy day in March.
The first place the cut up pair of jeans end up is with the tailor. This is Okello, and he’s been working for Sole Hope for 2 years. One of the greatest things I loved about Sole Hope’s mission on providing shoes for children is how they employee so many Ugandans to create the shoes. These are people that have consistent and well paying jobs with Sole Hope.
After this, your jeans are sent off to the shoemakers where they transform what you cut out into actual shoes! I was amazed at this process and seriously couldn’t believe that my friends and I had helped create actual shoes that are going on little kids feet to help them prevent future jiggers in their feet. It didn’t seem possible that we could have such a huge impact.
The head shoemaker, Kamagala, and his son, Zues, transform all of the fabric into shoes in their little quaint workshop at the back of the Sole Hope Guest House property. Kamagala has been a shoemaker since 1977 and has been working for Sole Hope for about a year and a half. Each day they create about 15 shoes that will eventually end up on the feet of children and adults that previously had no shoes.
The final shoe is finished and ready to change a life. Aren’t they so stinking cute?!?! These shoes are then stored in containers based on their size and taken to the villages during outreach days.
Each week, Sole Hope heads out to a different village to provide them with a free clinic to remove jiggers and educate them about how to remove them and prevent them.
Each patient that passes through is given a new pair of shoes. Shoes that you helped make from your shoe cutting party. Our team members each brought a pair that they had cut from their party and we had the joy of placing them on the feet of children.
These shoes I’m holding were cut out at my party around my kitchen table. My friends and their children showed up, we cut shoes out, and we made a big difference in this little girls life. On this day she had jiggers removed from her feet, received education on how to prevent them, and then I had the honor of bending down and placing shoes on her feet that came all the way from Austin, TX. The moment was surreal for me as I had witnessed first hand every single step that this old pair of jeans made to get to this little girl.
Your shoe cutting parties make a huge difference. You get to be a part of the solution. These kids now have shoes, education, and a huge smile on their face.
Most of the photos by Gary S. Chapman – others my iphone!
[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]Jamie Ivey[/typography]
Jamie Ivey is passionate about following wherever Jesus takes her, loving her husband, and trying to be the best mom she can be to the four cutest kids in the world. She loves reading great books, vacationing at the beach, speaking to women, date nights, and could easily eat TexMex three times a day. She lives in Austin Texas with her husband Aaron (worship pastor at The Austin Stone) and their crazy kids. You can find her blogging about parenting, marriage, adoption & faith at her website JamieIvey.com. Jamie’s newest adventure involves her hosting the podcast, Happy Hour, where she chats with a new guest each week about anything and everything.
where can I donate jeans,I live in Hastings,ne
Sandy, Unfortunately we don’t accept donations of just jeans, but if you are interested in hosting a Shoe Party and turning those jeans into the shoe uppers, we would love for you to do that! You can order your kit here: http://sole-hope.myshopify.com/collections/featured-products
Are the shoe party kits still available? The link in above comment isn’t working.
We currently have Shoe Parties on hold. They will be back in a few months! We would love for you to host a Care Kit Party though! You can find that here: https://sole-hope.myshopify.com/collections/care-kit-party
When will the shoe parties be available?
We don’t have an exact release date as of now, but it should be before the end of the year!
This is the problem with charities, so many rules. You make shoes out of denim take the jeans and get them to the people that are making shoes
My Girl Scout troop, myself amd the other Leaders are interested in having a shoe cutting party, please let me know the details.
Twenty-five more kits will be available on November 1st at 9 Eastern Time! You can order one then and it has all the information you need to plan a party!
Hello, I was wanting to sign up our school for this project. Our students would love to participate in this service project and help the children in Uganda. How can we get started?
Carla,
You can purchase a Shoe Cutting Party kit in our online store, or there are a lot of other ways to support Sole Hope as well! You can find those here: solehope.org/get-involved We list 25 kits in our store at 9:00 morning CST on the first of every month. Thank you for your interest in helping Sole Hope!
Carla,
We have a youth group at our church that may be interested in having a shoe cutting party. I also have a very large bag of used denim that would be perfect for this activity too! Does each of your kits only good for 10 shoes? Would we have to purchase more kits to make and donate additional shoes? I’m assuming that the shipping cost would be a donation as well? Does each kit have various sizes for children to adults? Sorry for all the questions, I just need to gather information for our group. Thank you!
Each Shoe Party Kit can be used for as many shoes as you’d like, but it only covers the required donation for 10 pair. Every pair over 10 that’s made from that kit needs to be accompanied by a $10 donation. The shipping of the cut shoes back to Sole Hope is the responsibility of the host. Each kit just comes with 1 size, and you can make as many of that size as you would like! amy@solehope.org would be happy to answer anymore questions that you might have about the Shoe Cutting Parties!