The Shoe That Grows With the Kid

by Teodora Zareva

3 billion people around the world live on less than $2 a day. 600 million children live in extreme poverty and most of them don’t have enough sanitation, enough clean water, enough clothing or enough shoes to protect them from the environment they live in. Because International is a non-profit organization committed to "practical compassion", innovation and simple, focused solutions. Their first project is a shoe that can grow. 

Because International was started by Kenton Lee. After graduating college from Northwest Nazarene University in 2007, Kenton lived and worked in Ecuador and Kenya for a while. One day he noticed a little girl from an orphanage beside him, who was wearing shoes that were insanely too small for her feet. The orphanage director told Kenton that they receive donations from America, but since the kids continue growing the shoes do not fit after six months and the only choices they have left are waiting for the next donation, or cutting out the fronts of the old shoes and wearing them as long as they could.

Kenton believed that innovation can provide practical solutions to problems like these and he founded Because International in 2009 with the mission to help people who live in extreme poverty. His first project was The Shoe That Grows - an adjustable shoe that can grow with the kids and protect them from soil-transmitted diseases. He wanted to create a shoe that companies could donate to the kids in need, but also that didn’t have to be replaced every year.

With the help of snaps and adjustable straps, The Shoe That Grows can grow in the front, the sides, and the back, covering 5 different shoe sizes. Thanks to quality materials, such as compressed rubber for the sole, high-quality leather and heavy duty snaps it can also last for 5 years. 

In January last year, Kenton’s organization managed to crowdsource enough funds to produce and distribute 1000 pairs of shoes to kids in Kenya. He is currently fundraising for a second shipment of 5000 pairs and he has already surpassed his goal of $50,000. 

Watch the journey of The Show That Grows in the video below: 

 

Photo: Because International