I am already getting very excited to get to work and help organize this TOMS event! It should be a lot of fun to decorate our own shoes, and of course, it's for a great cause! I'm just hoping that you all understand this cause completely.
Dana has already explained the lack of footwear in many parts of Africa, and how we can donate shoes through Shoe4Africa or buy a pair of TOMS and automatically have another donated. I'm sure you all understand the basic reasons why these shoes are needed, to keep feet warm and to protect feet from harmful things we can step on, of course. But not wearing shoes can actually lead to many diseases and deaths:
Podoconiosis: is thought to be caused by walking on red clay soil and due to this a certain type of bacteria enters the foot and plugs local lymph nodes causing the foot to swell, itch and burn greatly
Schistosomiasis: Is caused by walking through contaminated water. Parasidic worms enter through small cuts or scrapes in the foot, lay eggs and then travel through out the body, and can particularly harm the liver, lung and bladder. This condition is very popular with school aged children.
Tungiasis: Is a disease that over 42% of children in Nigerian children are infected with. It is a parasidic flea that enters the foot from the sand. Painful swelling as a result of the parasidic flea leads to fibrous cysts.
Hookwork: Is an intestinal parasite that can enter through the foot, travel through one's veins to the heart and then the lung, where they are coughed up and swollowed into the intestines. (Is that an intense procedure or what?) They attatch themselves to the bowel wall and suck blood, causing animea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss.
And all of these diseases?
They can be prevented by wearing shoes.
I really hope that you guys spread the message and are able to help us to make a positive difference in this issue.
-Em
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