A Day Without Shoes on the Tiger Walk

About 20 barefoot students from Texas Southern University gathered in early April on Tiger Walk to raise awareness for children who do not have shoes. They were supporting the shoe manufacturer, TOMS to promote One Day Without Shoes. Every time a pair of TOMS is purchased, a pair is donated to a child that is less fortunate.

The students walked the length of campus and back to the student center in order to earn a T-shirt. Before the walk began, Isis Green, a junior, said that this walk was no comparison to actually living without shoes.

"Right now it feels free, but I haven't done the walk yet," Green said. "I know once I've done the walk, it’s going to be a little bit different. But even still, walking without shoes is not going to compare to what these children go through every single day."

And Green was right. Once everyone's shoes came off, the pain of walking down the brick laden Tiger Walk was not much fun at all.

All over the world, many children live their lives without shoes. It’s hard to find an estimate of how many children need shoes. Last year TOMS gave away more than a million pairs.

TOMS, a company created by Blake Mycoskie in 2006, specializes in bringing awareness to this problem that so many children have. In 2008, Mycoskie took TOMS a step further by starting "One Day Without Shoes", which was an international campaign that specifically focused on bringing attention to the many children that suffer from diseases, lack of education, and lack of hope for the future; all because they don't have shoes.

Akayla Pomare, a junior at Texas Southern, orchestrated the shoe drive and a "One Day Without Shoes" walk down the Tiger Walk. Pomare advertised the event by giving presentations to major campus organizations, such as the University Program Council and the Student Government Association, the week before. MAKE A SENTENCE: Walked to the student center, passed out t-shirts, a d-j, in order to get a T-shirt students had to donate some shoes or walk barefoot,

“We have to continue to spread the word on countries that are more in need, continue to have shoe drives, donate to orphanages where young children are unfortunate,” Pomare said. “We have to host different types of events not only at TSU but at other universities and schools to let others know that this is still an existing factor."

Pomare is not the only student that feels students at Texas Southern University can do more for this cause. Brandi Davis, a junior wants to see more events that cater to all types of unfortunate people.

"It’s not just awareness for lack of shoes, "said Davis, "it’s awareness for disenfranchised people. To raise awareness, we should do more events on what’s going  on in the community and around the world about people who lack and how we can help them."

Ellis Washington, a freshman said that making sure we talk about the problems is key to solving them.

 "The first step is what we're doing today and I think if we keep doing things like this like having forums and just talking to people, that will be a big step in the right direction," said Washington, "People don't talk enough about the reasons for why we're here today. People don't talk about kids not having shoes in third world countries. Its more than that, people don't talk about poverty. If you talk about it, that's the first step."

Talking about the issues is nothing compared to experiencing first-hand how the people involved feel, even if only for a brief stroll through the campus of TSU. Once everyone's shoes came off, the pain of walking down the brick laden Tiger Walk was not very fun at all. Julian Kane, a junior, noticed this almost immediately.

"The purpose of today is to bring enlightenment to people that shoes aren't easy to get, shoes are actually a luxury in other countries. Honestly, I walked around for ten minutes without shoes and I put some back on," Kane said. "As a person, I can use social media because I don't think I'll be walking around without shoes for much longer."