Donate Your Old Shoes, Help Save Lives With Access to Clean Water

Every 21 seconds a child dies due to a water-related illness, according to water.org (a United States-based charity). Another way to look at that number is 4,100 deaths per day across the globe, ultimately stemming from a lack of clean water in developing countries.

The World Health Organization says 1.1 billion people do not have access to adequate water supply sources and 2.4 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities.

When Matthew Dunphy, a junior at Covenant Christian Academy in Peabody, learned about those sobering statistics, he just felt compelled to do something about it. So for the past month, he's been collecting donations of used shoes.

Dunphy said he researched different organizations that work on trying to solve the lack of water resources in the world and ended up partnering with the Shoeman Water Project in St. Louis, M.O. The next step was brainstorming ways to come up with 5,000 pairs of shoes.

He explained that's how many shoes it takes to convert into the money needed to build one well for a village halfway around the world.

The organization exports the shoe donations to street vendors for resale in the Caribbean, South America and Kenya. Money from the exports then goes toward purchasing well drilling rigs, water purification systems and other supplies to bring clean water to communities.

“Something as simple as donating used shoes can help alleviate many kinds of suffering. This is a win-win situation, you get rid of your closet clutter and at the same time help save lives,” said Dunphy.

In addition to collecting shoes at school, he also got his local church involved and altogether has gathered about 4,400 shoes, sandals, boots, slippers, you name it.

The drive ends this Saturday. Unused footwear of any kind, whether adult or kid's size, is wanted. "If they go on your feet, we take them," said Dunphy.

You can drop shoe donations off at Covenant Christian Academy, which is located at 83 Pine St. You can also call the school or Dunphy at 978-777-5761 to learn more about the project.

Visit Shoeman Water Projects online at www.shoemanwater.org.