Cape Town: Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews handed over the school shoes to students in Manenberg, on Wednesday, Jan 15, 2025. An additional 600 pairs of shoes were scheduled to be delivered to the school by the start of February this year under ‘Soles for Souls’ campaign.
Reportedly, the Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews wanted to kick-start the new school year with gifting a number of River Red Primary School pupils new school shoes. Following this donation, the City Deputy Mayor said that these shoes are much more than just a uniform requirement.
The ‘Soles for Souls’ campaign aims to collect 42,200 pairs for various pupils across Cape Town. Notable partners such as the Santa Shoebox Project is renowned for providing gifts to children in need and the online fundraising platform GivenGain, supporting to the campaign. However, all shoes are purchased from ‘Barefoot not more’.
According to Deputy Mayor, for some pupils, the lack of proper footwear can lead to embarrassment, bullying and missed school days that negatively impacts on their studies and in the long-run adds deep cycles of poverty in their communities. These gifts provide dignity, comfort and protection.
The River Red Primary School is one of the schools that entered into a partnership with the Mayoral Urban Regeneration Project (MURP) of the City of Cape Town in 2024. The partnership has led to projects such as the establishment of a vegetable garden, community clean-ups on Spring Day and the latest donation of school shoes.
Moreover, the schools in vulnerable MURP nodes are set to be identified and partnered with the programme to ensure the maximum reach and impact. The donation of the school shoes to pupils is a key component of the Deputy Mayor’s ‘Soles for Souls’ campaign which seeks to ensure that no child in Cape Town is without proper footwear.
Alderman Andrews highlighted that they have made great strides since launching the campaign and he want to extend his gratitude to everyone who has made some donation. While there is still much work to be done and they are already seeing the positive impact that a pair of school shoes can have on these pupils.