Pupils at The King’s School West Rand began the chilly morning on 21 May, by losing their feet in celebration of International No Shoes Day.
Hurmano Schoonwinkel, the Ruimsig school’s head boy said pupils were asked to bring old shoes to donate.
“This is a global initiative and different people can walk around barefoot the entire day. We will take a footsie (foot selfie) and upload that on Instagram under the hashtags #WithoutShoes and #Footsie and for every picture uploaded, the Toms company will give a brand new pair of shoes to someone.”
Armand du Plessis, the current Mr SA title holder, came all barefoot, in support of the day and global awareness campaign. Du Plessis said he is passionate and supports education and health programmes.
“Being Mr SA is about giving back and that is something that I am particularly passionate about. This an opportunity to create awareness for education and health initiatives in South Africa and the world. Congratulations to all of you for donating so many pairs of shoes.”
School principal Ken Langley added that in a country such as South Africa, where poverty is rife and needs are desperate, the call to participate in yet another donor project might seem like contributing to a bottomless pit of hopelessness. “We might start to experience what is known as donor fatigue,” he continued. “It is at times like these that we need to cast our eyes to the cross and consider the example of generosity that Jesus modelled for us.”
After taking an unforgettable #Footsie, the primary school pupils moved on to make footprints on a mural while the high school pupils signed their autographs on the other side of the wall.
