Capricorn Foundation, through Project Never Walk Alone, recently donated 350 pairs of school shoes worth N.dollars 100 000 to learners at Groot Aub and St Andrew Primary School as well as Chairman Mao Zedong High School, in the Khomas Region.

Marlize Horn, Executive Officer of Capricorn Foundation, told Nampa on Monday that the foundation has reached over 7 000 children this year in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools through various partnerships with education-focused organisations, providing them with school materials, online learning, nutritional support, and teacher training.

“The foundation is pleased to restore the dignity of the Namibian child by donating school shoes to vulnerable children, which ties back to the group’s purpose of being positive change connectors,” she said.

According to Tim Ekandjo, Founder of Project Never Walk Alone, thousands of children in both urban and rural Namibia are seen walking barefoot to school.

This is the narrative that the project seeks to change.

“A pair of shoes is a necessity, not a luxury, to protect their feet and their confidence. Project Never Walk Alone is a national campaign encouraging people to do the right thing for the right reasons. Normally, a child without shoes is one of the most visible signs of poverty,” he explained.

He stated that children who arrive at school without shoes are always at risk of being teased and undermined by their peers, which affects their self-confidence and their sense of purpose in life in the long run.

To date, 6 290 pairs of shoes have been donated in six regions through the project.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency