By Tshidiso Masopha
Over 7 million school children have never owned a pair of school shoes in their lives. It’s a harrowing fact that we have a school shoe crisis in our country. Millions of children, particularly in rural areas, are forced to brave the winter cold and walk to school barefoot.
This has resulted in a significantly high dropout rate during the winter months. In a bid to change this, Albany has launched a campaign to ‘bake a difference.’
The Albany Back-to-School ‘Live the Ntofo-Ntofo School Life’ campaign was created to help alleviate some of the financial pressure parents experience at the start of the school year. The bread making megalith partnered up with My Walk to do a school shoe handover. MyWalk is a non-profit organisation that recycles non-contaminated PVC drip bags, oxygen masks and associated tubing to manufacture durable and fully recyclable school shoes.
Corporates are increasingly walking a mile in the shoes of school children. For instance, Tiger Brands has donated more than 2,000 pairs of school shoes to date. They also achieved this feat in collaboration with MyWalk.
Programme manager Ruth Mathys explains, “These discussions are not lectures, but rather an interactive and participatory conversation. They build on the experiences and knowledge of the mothers, creating a constant feedback loop.”“Something as simple as a pair of school shoes can make a considerable difference in the life of a child who regards it a privilege and for parents facing financial strain,” says Loraine de Graaf, Marketing Director, Bakeries, Tiger Brands.
“Albany is hoping to bring pride and dignity back into our schools and that this initiative will provide learners with that extra motivation to start each new school day,” she added.
We may still have a long way to go to overcome the school shoe crisis. However, South African corporates are making strides to ensure fewer children are affected.
