Lacing up for a cause

By Samantha Chown, News Contributor

Walking barefoot is usually a luxury associated with pristine beaches and lazy days spent at home, but to Kyle Warkentin, being barefoot is a death sentence.
The 19-year-old has spent the last two years volunteering around the world. In the fall, he will attend Dalhousie for microbiology. He plans to go to medical school and eventually wants to work for Doctors Without Borders.
Last May, Warkentin went to the city of Kabwe, Zambia in Africa through a humanitarian initiative organized by the Rock Church in Lower Sackville. He spent three weeks attending to the sick, cleaning wounds and playing with the children.
“When they’re well, they’re so active,” he says. “But mostly all are running around barefoot and they don’t have actual toys. They have to play with trash.”
During his time there, Warkentin noticed an alarming fact: Kabwe has no waste collection system. Everything – from used condoms to feces – ends up in the streets. This makes the city a breeding ground for bacteria and disease. It’s a major problem in Zambia – a country with one of the highest AIDS/HIV epidemics – that even a minor cut on someone’s foot can cause an infection that leads to death.
When he returned to Canada, Warkentin says he had an “I have to do something” moment.
“I’ll have a shoe drive,” he says, reminiscing. “It just popped into my head randomly.”
So, in November 2009, Shoes for Souls was born.
The idea was to hold a massive shoe drive across Nova Scotia from January to June 2010 with a goal of collecting 4,000 pairs of shoes.
Warkentin says providing shoes to the residents of Kabwe can help prevent disease and infection, meaning the kids can play freely without worry.
“They’re going to be comforted by the fact that someone actually cares about them,” says Warkentin.
Since then, local organizations have been quick to offer support and donate their facilities. Metro Self-Storage has donated a storage container to house the shoes until they head to Africa.
He also partnered with Pacrim Hospitality Services, who will run a separate shoe drive from January 25 to February 14 through their four hotels in the Halifax area.
On Feb. 6, Warkentin will travel to Newfoundland to collect shoes that have been donated.
It’s been less than a month, and they’ve already collected at least 1,000 pairs of shoes. Warkentin says the container is already bursting.
“It’s been this small thing that just exploded,” he says.  “It’s pretty cool.”
On June 4, Shoes for Souls will host a gala event at the Halifax Club. Each room will display photos of the people of Zambia. Warkentin says the event is meant to be personal.
“The photos are going to represent the amount of shoes we’ve collected and the lives these shoes are going to touch.”
As part of the Order of Canada Mentorship Program, Warkentin has been partnered up with Dr. Mark Wainberg, Director of the McGill University Aids Centre.  Wainberg has been advising Warkentin on his return trip to Zambia in June when he will distribute the donated shoes over a 10-day period with a team of volunteers.
“If you have shoes, donate them. They are literally going to prevent death,” says Warkentin.