A day without shoes.

I didn’t wear shoes today. Thousands of people across America didn’t wear shoes today.

More importantly, millions of children in third world countries didn’t wear shoes today, not because they chose to do so, but because they have none to wear. Many children cannot go to school because shoes are a required part of their uniform, and they have none. Some of the most common, most fatal diseases are soil-transmitted; today 11 million people in Ethiopia alone were at risk for Podo, a fatal foot and leg disease that’s 100% preventable by a pair of shoes. Wounds these children get on their feet often become infected due to lack of medical treatment, many of which often result in death.

This is why we chose not to wear shoes today for TOMS’s One Day Without Shoes; experiencing a day without shoes gave us a glance at how millions of people have to live every day and it raised awareness about the issue. I learned a lot from today. Even though I don’t live in an area with dangerous soil-transmitted disease and I’m not at risk for a deadly infection, I was a little inconvenienced when I walked out the door to go to a study group and noticed all the rain falling on the ground, and even more so when I walked back to my dorm with all the earth worms crawling around me. I in no way experienced the kinds of things people forced to live without shoes do, but my eyes were opened.

I saw exactly why it’s so important to give shoes to these people. Some people argue that we can’t save everyone; we need to start at the top with government so they can save themselves. But the truth is that people die every day because of illness related to lack of shoes. Humanitarian aid is not limited to providing the most basic human needs like freedom, medical attention, and food. Christ Himself said to His disciples:

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me…Anything you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”

Anything we do for the least of these, including giving shoes to children, we do for our Lord. We can give them hope…มุ่งหวัง