How far would you go for charity? Would you give up your Ugg boots or those really comfy trainers you just slip on to go to lectures? Would you attend your lectures bare foot and run 5k with nothing on your feet?
This is exactly what your fellow students are doing this month. Alex White, Andy Davies, Lucy Meredith, Matthew Boswell, Lucy Avery, Sarah Lawrence, and Sophie de Winter are all participating in a month long fundraiser called ëNo Shoes Novemberí. Each day they will be joined by different people in a bid to raise money for their chosen charities.
Alex White, a third year Religious Studies and Spanish student, and Andy Davies are raising money for Edithís Home in Uganda. The boys have recently visited Ngora in Uganda where they met some of the faces behind the statistics of poverty. Edithís Home is an amazing charity that sponsors children through school, providing vocational training to orphans who have been forced to drop out from school so that they can support their child headed families.
Edithís Homeís social workers mentor and support the families with grants, food and medical care with the short term aim of improving their living conditions with the long term aim of lifting them out of poverty. Currently Edithís Home supports 75 child headed families, but there are many more that could be helped with your support.
Lucy Meredith is raising money for the Kenyan Orphan Project (KOP). Kop is established in 16 Universities across the UK. This summer 146 students from across the UK fundraised £800 each and went on a two week trip to Kisumu, Western Kenya, to visit some of the projects that KOP can support with their funds.
Lucy says ëI had the most incredible and inspirational time on the trip and      I love seeing how much KOP is growing week by week. However, one of the things that caught my eye was the fact that most of the children in the poorer regions KOP supports walk around every day without shoes. This is a sign of extreme poverty. KOP aims to improve the lives of children through health, nutrition and educationí.
Sarah Lawrence recently graduated from Cardiff University and she is raising money for Tearfund by going barefoot in Bristol. Sarah says, ìCall me crazy but I want to raise awareness for the 1.4 billion people who in the world that live in extreme poverty. Iíve encountered people in developing countries who didnít own shoes, let alone basic human rights that we take for granted such as basic healthcare and sanitation. There are 1.4 billion reasons for you to donate because 1.4 billion people living on less than 77 pence a day.î
Sophie de Winter with Matthew Boswell and Lucy Avery are raising money for Stand By Me. Sophie has previously volunteered twice with Stand By Me, in Ethiopia and Kenya, and having seen the work they do, Sophie says ëthere is no charity I would rather take my shoes off for.í Matthew has continued to participate in Park Run, and Lucy is barefootiní in support of the No Shoes November charities. A 5k run is hard at the best of times, let alone barefoot in this freezing weather.
Stand By Me are currently caring for over 3000 of the worldís poorest children that they have rescued. Opening their own schools and childrenís homes, they accept all children as equal and equip them with the knowledge and tools necessary to break the cycle of poverty. Sophie is a well-known busker around Cardiff and she will continue to perform gigs barefoot throughout November.
These amazing people will brave the wild Welsh wind, rain, broken glass and uneven terrain to raise thousands for their chosen charities.
To show you support all you need to do it take off those cosy slippers, remove those fluffy bed socks and take a picture of your feet on your 24 hour adventure. Alternatively, if youíre not quite ready to show the world your naked feet you can donate online at any of the Just Giving websites below.
http://www.justgiving.com/Lucy-Meredith
http://www.justgiving.com/noshoesnovember-andy
http://www.justgiving.com/noshoesnovember-Alex
http://www.justgiving.com/noshoes-november-sdw
http://www.justgiving.com/noshoesnov
Seren Harbon
News Writer
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