“I think sometimes we forget what we have, and occasionally it’s important to remind ourselves”
– Blake Mycoskie – TOMS Founder / Chief Shoe Giver

Every morning, the average American wakes up and gets dressed for the day…their most compelling thought about their shoes? “Which pair will look best with what I’m wearing?” or maybe, “which pair will be most comfortable for what I need to do today?”

Shoes get us from place to place. They keep us from getting frostbitten toes in the winter or blisters from burning concrete in the summer months. Just about every one of us has multiple pairs in various shapes, sizes, and colors to coordinate with what we wear daily. Shoes are so natural to us we do not think about the possibility of living without them.

Imagine sending your son or daughter to school barefoot on a hot summer day. Their feet would start to form blisters due to the unforgiving heat. At the Jabar Khan School in Afghanistan, students attend school barefoot having to travel in the summer heat and cold winters of Afghanistan, walking on dusty or soggy wet dirt roads often littered with trash and rocks. “Jabar Khan School is located in the poorest area and students come to school barefoot. Even if they don’t have new socks to wear, wearing boots is a good thing,” says Mohib Stanikzai who works at Afshar Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

We forget how important shoes are in our lives. Shoes help keep children healthy, protecting them from cuts, bruises, and diseases. A pair of shoes can instill confidence, free from self-consciousness, shame, and worry about not having something other children in school have. Shoes empower a child to learn and most importantly to simply be a child.

AMOR’s mission has always been to improve the health status of the communities we serve, across the globe or in our own Central Valley. AMOR is on location in Afghan communities where there is extreme need. Through Afshar Hospital and our 5 community health clinics, AMOR provides quality healthcare and health education for all. We believe this creates a movement of empowerment and opportunity within the communities we serve.

Global change comes when we work together. AMOR is the local partner in Afghanistan that collaborates with AmeriCares, a non-profit disaster relief and global health organization, and TOMS Shoes. Each of the three partners plays a specific role in achieving a common goal, which is to provide school kids in Afghanistan with a pair of shoes throughout the year. Through this partnership, AMOR distributed 38,000 summer shoes and 10,000 pairs of winter boots in 2015.

So, next time you put on your shoes, remember how fortunate you are, and how something as simple as a pair of shoes can impact a child’s life.

You can be part of this movement by joining us in our work. Learn about the TOMS model here: www.toms.com/improving-lives and visit www.AMORelief.org to learn more about the work AMOR is doing overseas and locally. Be sure to stay tuned for stories and ways to make a difference by following and connecting with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @AMORelief.