New Shoe Project

One supporter on our tour brought with her a pair of trainers and soft summer shoes her young grandchildren had outgrown. These were welcomed by two of Upali’s young children. This led to us being told a story which highlights the shortcomings of some wonderful aid ideas which are not properly followed through at village level.

The shoe company BATA had the philanthropic idea to give every child in a Tsunami hit village a voucher for a new pair of shoes. Sadly, these vouchers were useless to most families in Kalmunai, as the local branch of Bata would not redeem them. Families were told they had to travel to the main branches in Ampara or Batticaloa, both of which were far too expensive a journey for any of them to undertake, so the vouchers were useless. From this story was born our new ‘Star Action Shoes for Tsunami Children’ project. Star Action supporters gave money which we transferred to Upali for the Shoe Project fund. He then made arrangements with the local shop for STAR ACTION VOUCHERS to be exchanged. During 2006/07 many families benefited from this project.