Juniors Isabella Avery, Ashton Baze, Alexa Haygood and Monica Jamison spent the weekend of March 15-17 throwing a party- not a party, in the traditional sense of the word, but a shoe-making party that went towards helping children in Uganda fight infection and disease.

Through their small group at Southside Church, the girls hosted a Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party and created shoe patterns made out of old jeans, empty milk jugs and fabric scraps.

Monica said, “It was really rewarding to think that making shoe patterns for a few hours could help so many and prevent children from getting jiggers. This is a perfect example of how  little time, money, and craft supplies such as the old jeans and empty milk jugs could come together to change so many lives.”

Overall, the girls made over 50 shoe patterns-three times as many shoes as they had planned.

The shoes are made to protect Ugandan children from jiggers, which are small sand fleas that enter and burrow into bare feet, causing infection and even paralysis. Each shoe set pattern is sent with a $10 donation that goes to women in Uganda.

The monetary donations and the shoe patterns are then sent and supply Ugandan women with jobs as seamstresses and provide them with income and pride in their workmanship. Ashton said, “The money is used so they can raise money to go to college or support their families.”

Ashton continued, “It was an awesome experience because it puts things in perspective and made me realize how fortunate we are to even have a pair of shoes. There’s not a better feeling than knowing you’re impacting someone’s life.”