Millions of children around the world cannot afford shoes. But “The Shoe That Grows” project in Kenya aims to change that. It can expand as a child grows, removing the need to buy costly new pairs.

Children can go up several shoe sizes in just a couple of months. But many take for granted the costs that entails, especially for poor families who cannot afford shoes.

Steve, 11, has to walk a fair distance to school each day. That is doubly hard with worn out shoes. His parents bought them a size too big, hoping he will grow into them.

“I’ve had these shoes for three years now, and they big and torn,” Steve says.

Many children across the world have shoes that do not fit properly. Others are forced to go barefoot.

“A good number of them we realize that they don’t have shoes, some of them have got torn shoes at times when they are walking they hit their feet on stones. A good pair of shoes goes for between 900 shillings to 1,000 bob and most of the children here cannot afford,” said Calvin Masitsa, director of Maximum Impact Center.

Elsewhere in the Kenyan capital, NGO worker Japheth Opondo is delivering shoes to schools.
Some sandals are going to Kayole, a slum just east of Nairobi. But there is something very special about these shoes.

“The shoes come in two sizes, one that is small and one that is big, so we target the small one. The small one is for the little kids, that can adjust up to five sizes, according to the way the foot of the chid is growing. The second one is a bit larger and targets the bit older kids, that can also adjust five times,” said Japheth Opondo, volunteer of Because International.

The Shoe that Grows can last up to five years. Steve is one of the students who is getting a pair. They are adjustable at the back, sides, and front. Beneficiaries are taught just how they work.

Opondo said, “So the upper part is made out of very tough leather and the sole is made out of very tough rubber, so it can go through water and all conditions. So it’s washable and even when it’s raining it can handle that water and still dries up, so it's something that has been tested.”

The shoes cost the NGO 15 dollars a pair. Last year they distributed more than 30,000 of them, to 25 countries globally.

“I feel well, the last time I had the other shoes I always come to school late, because of those shoes, stones come into the shoes and I have to stay in the road to remove them. Yes, that’s how I feel; I feel good,” said Brian Musyoka, school student.

“I feel nice, because the other ones had holes on the front and at the back of them. And they were always hurting me, with keeping stones inside the shoes,” said Steve Nelson, school student.

Three-hundred million children around the world do not have shoes. The Shoe That Grows does exactly that: It expands while the child grows. Sustainable and certainly far more cost effective than buying new shoes every couple of months. And they make a long walk just a little bit easier.