MY MIND : Hear of this shoe which grows

The Shoe That Grows, a sandal invented by Kenton Lee can adjust its size, allowing children in impoverished nations to grow up without having to go barefoot. NET PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • HAVES AND HAVE NOTS. While some children have full wardrobes of shoes, others feel there is need to make for the needy who cannot afford a pair.

So, an invention comes to light, a pair of shoes that grows as feet grow! I was reading an article about this interesting shoe created by Kenton Lee, a man who thought this idea, will help millions of children around the world who cannot afford to buy a new pair of shoes as their feet grow.
It is made from durable compressed rubber and adjustable stripes that can last five or more years. According to health organisations, this will help thousands of children living in rural poor parts of the world from foot injuries, and related infections.

Fairy tale shoes
Shoes stories are always interesting; one that I remember goes back to a time when shoes were not yet invented. It is a fairy tale about a King who ordered that all the roads in his Kingdom be covered in leather; this was to protect his feet while walking on roads. A smart man in the kingdom who found the idea of covering all roads with leather, very taxing and expensive, suggested to the king to make a product from leather to be instead wrapped around his feet. Hence the idea of shoes started and developed to its current shape and design.

Gandhi version
Gandhi, has an interesting shoe story too, one that has recently been made into a short Egyptian movie. It is said that Gandhi arrived late to a train station and while running to catch the train, he lost a shoe in the process, seeing that the one shoe left on his foot has no value without the other, he decided to throw the one he was wearing before the train sped off. In a split of a second, this man full of compassion for others, thought that whoever will find his shoe, will now find the other and will be able to wear a proper pair of shoes.
While visiting a museum/house where Gandhi stayed when he lived in Mumbai, I saw a very interesting pair of wooden sandals that he used to wear. They looked very uncomfortable, then I heard the tour guide explaining that the wooden sandal that has a nail like front has some pressure points on the toes, this is meant to control sexual desires.

In the name of fashion
Shoes have travelled a long journey for so many years, and in my view as a woman, most people who design women shoes are men who never try the shoes they design! Ladies shoes are becoming a source of discomfort and chronic back problems, still, they are worn in the name of fashion!

The haves and have nots
Back to the story of the expandable shoes, albeit very interesting and full of compassion, it is a reminder of the harsh reality of our world today, where there are children who have wardrobes of shoes, some of which they probably never wear, and other children with no shoes at all. Therefore, Cinderella and her glass shoe remains a fairytale, as far from reality as the earth from the sun, even further!

Did you know?
Like every great story, The Shoe That Grows began with someone seeing a need and figuring out a way to fill it. In 2007, Kenton Lee was living in Nairobi, Kenya. While walking to church one day, he noticed a little girl who was wearing shoes that were way too small. This of course lent itself to the question, “why?” and the resulting answer was an idea. “What if kids had shoes that could adjust and expand, so that they always had a pair that fit?”