A walk in his shoes.

So I try really hard to be artsy sometimes.  I had this super nice, touristy camera with one of those straps around the neck.  It took some magnificent shots.  You could even add sepia tone to make it all the more artistic. Last time I was here, I was on a mission to take the best photos of poverty that I possibly could.  For what?  Because it’s artsy?

Well this shot is not artistic at all.  There is nothing to be desired about it, and i am sure that I am exploiting some ethical boundary here, but such is life I guess.

 

This is a picture of a shoe.  I creepily took it today when nobody was looking.   I don’t know why shoes get to me more than some of the other visible signs of poverty?  Maybe it is because I have such a shoe addiction!  I remember in high school, I was couch surfing for a while, with all my clothes and possessions all over the place.  Some were at grannies.  Some were at friends.  Some were at the Laundromat.  My life was such a mess.  But my shoes, I ALWAYS had my shoes in the trunk of my car.  Imagine this with me.  More than 60 pairs for every conceivable occasion, organized immaculately.   And the winter time was the worst, man!  My toes would be numb every morning as I went out to pick the right pair for the right outfit. 

And here on my African adventure!  I’m here for a year or so, and I brought 9 pairs of shoes.  And naturally that number has grown since I have been here! Obviously I needed something comfortable, and then something dressy.  And well, it’s boot season now, so had to have a black AND a brown option.  And tennis shoes, or takkies as we call them here!  They say one needs a few different pairs if they do some running.  You know, support and such.  Not to mention the 3 color options I have to match each gym clothing option!

Anyway.. back to this picture.  This is a school shoe.  I’ve bought a few pairs for a few favorites over the past few months.  They cost about 13 American dollars.  Not breaking the bank or anything.  So when we go out off on outings, it always kills me when the students wear both their uniforms and their school shoes.  Basically, it means that they don’t have any other option.  And the option that they do have looks like this. 

This boy to whom this foot belongs has a particularly hard home situation, and on top of that, he is subjected to the jeers from onlookers when he shows up in shoes like this.  So what can I do?  Can I buy him new shoes?  Yahhhh, been there, done that. For more than I care to share.  But what does it solve?  He still struggles for food each day.  His mom will still sell off his possessions pocket change.  At the end of the day, he is stuck in this cycle.  And for me, this shoe is his cycle.  No multicolor takkie options, or a trunk full of ballet flats and way- too-high-heels in his cycle.

Ya, there’s just something about shoes, or lack thereof….