BELTON—University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students gained a little better understanding of how much of the world lives when they recently went barefoot for one day to identify with children in developing countries who have no shoes.
The idea grew out of a conversation in March between Student Body President Tatenda Tavaziva and football player Max Taylor as they stood in line for lunch one day. They realized they shared a desire to do something that would be meaningful and could get the entire campus involved, including faculty and staff.
By the time their sandwiches were delivered, their ideas were in place, including thoughts about how to spread the word and a plan to put shoes on children’s feet in an orphanage in Haiti.
| As he participated in Sole to Soul, donning a suit but no shoes, he recognized it as an experience that made him feel uncomfortable, awkward and self-conscious.
“I certainly felt odd this morning,” Theodore said. “From the moment I crawled out of bed, when I would normally put on houseshoes to go get the paper, I didn’t. “Later, I had to take my car into the shop. So, I parked my car and walked through the gravel parking lot, which was quite painful. Then, I walked into the shop, and the first thing the guy sees are my bare feet. I am wearing a tie and not shoes. The guy started laughing and asked, ‘Where are your shoes?’ And it became an opportunity to tell him what we are doing at UMHB.” Although the final count of participants was hard to estimate, there were barefoot students and faculty in every classroom, in chapel, in the dining hall and walking across campus throughout the day. Those who chose not to shed shoes were encouraged to join the effort by donating $10 to buy a pair of shoes for a child in the Hope for the Hungry Foundation’s Haiti orphanage. Throughout the day, students stopped by the Student Campus Activites office to drop off $10 bills, and by the end of the day, more than enough money had been contributed to put shoes on every child in one Haitian orphanage, with money left over. Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on ThursdaysStudents donated more than $2,500, and four large boxes of shoes were prepared for shipping to Haiti. “We prayed if God was not behind this we wanted it to fail, but God seemed to have supported it every step of the way,” Tavaziva said. Taylor hopes to use Sole to Soul as a steppingstone for his future plans. He sees himself continuing this type of work and was thankful the project allowed him to get his feet wet—so to speak. “Right now, all I can think about is the people in Haiti we are going to help,” Taylor said. “Maybe one day, I can take Sole to Soul nationwide and will be able to help many more.”
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