New Shoes Donated to 85 Students in Villa El Carmen

April 2010--“I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes” (quote from Oprah Winfrey). And now so do the 85 students who walk for several kilometers to attend the San Miguel school in a very rural area of Villa El Carmen—thanks to the generous donations of Kaley Merrill and Richard and Donis Woodall. Distributing the shoes to the excited school children in the photos is Julia Varner of Lynchburg, Virginia. The San Miguel school is surrounded by sugar cane fields where most of the children’s parents work for a pittance. Just trying to buy the required school uniform for their children to attend a public school is quite a sacrifice for many families. So, when it comes to putting shoes on their kids’ feet, there’s rarely money left over. Barefoot children risk hookworm infestation that can retard physical and mental development while children wearing ill-fitting shoes can end up with lifetime pain in tissues and bones. These new shoes are especially welcome just before the rainy season starts!