Barefoot children who are homeless or living in extreme poverty risk injury while searching for food or household items in garbage dumps and abandoned buildings, or while walking through open sewers and contaminated paths. Many of us are unaware that millions of people across our globe live barefoot lives.

Moreover, it is a known fact that billions of shoes are taking up space in our basements and closets. Many that we seem outdated are considered a treasure in a developing country.

In India, barefoot children are the most vulnerable of all. In addition to external abrasions, the un-hygienic conditions of living make them susceptible to parasitic and soil transmitted diseases like hookworm, podoconiosis, and schistosomiasis.

“The Walk of Hope” Project has reached children in some rural parts of India where over 117 pairs of shoes have been distributed. Wearing shoes instead of walking barefoot offers these children protection and safety by reducing the risk of exposure to parasites like hookworm, pathogens, and hazardous substances.

A simple loving act of providing new shoes has the power to instil hope in a walk that is often marred with poverty.