Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to right sidebar Skip to footer

Council winds up Shoesday initiative

Mayor Noel Chalamanda on Friday morning received a donation of pairs of shoes from St Andrews International Primary School pupils marking the end of the Mayor’s Festive Shoesday Tuesday Initiative.

Mayor-poses-with-pupils
Mayor poses with Head teacher, Cllr Mambo, pupils and other officials

The initiative launched in November last year aimed at motivating privileged pupils from urban schools to share at least a pair of shoes with less privileged pupils within the City.

The Mayor was also invited to Blantyre Baptist Academy, Phoenix Private Schools and St Andrews High School where hundreds of shoes were also donated.

Under the initiative, the Council, working in partnership with eventsPlus Limited, was appealing to privileged school pupils to share at least a pair of shoes with their fellow less privileged pupils in the City.

“The main item focused on was shoes after realizing that many pupils within the City of Blantyre go to school barefooted,” said the Mayor who was accompanied by Councillor for Blantyre South Ward Mike Mambo.

“I believe that a second hand pair that some children last wore six months ago or no longer fit them, can boost a needy child’s confidence and positively impact on class performance,” he added.

The initiative aimed at cultivating a spirit of sharing with the less privileged in children at an early age, establishing local charity solutions within communities instead of solely relying on outsiders, cheering up less fortunate residents of Blantyre City during the festive season and availing the Mayor and Councillor for the area where the School is, an opportunity to interact with junior residents of the City.

Meanwhile, Health and Environmental Committee of the Council has adopted the initiative’s report which details how the shoes would be distributed to beneficiaries.

Mainly, the donation will target those pupils that have never worn a shoe in their lives and Councillors in liaison with schools management would be identifying the needy children.

Thousands of pairs of shoes and other materials have been donated by the following schools: Hillview, Kalibu Academy, Central High, SouthEnd, Nyasa Junior Academy. Bata Shoe Company also donated school shoes.