Ariel Foundation International Events

This pilot project “Walk in my Shoes” is the first of its kind in Central and South America. It is designed to provide shoes to under privileged children and families within the communities of the country of El Salvador. This collection of new and slightly used shoes will contribute in helping to increase the literacy level and the overall economics of the population. As it will be a motivation for children and adults to better themselves and to positively contribute to society and their countries economy.  The pilot program start will start in the city of Suchitoto, El Salvador, and will expand to other nations in Central and South America. Third world nations will benefit extensively from this aid, as it will result in expansion of knowledge and the ability to break the cycle of poverty within the communities.
    
The primary goal is provide shoes to under privileged children and adults in order to increase health, education, and productivity in communities. Also to promote awareness that outside of their boundaries there is a world that is willing to help. This awareness will contribute to their notion that they do matter and are important to society. As such their self-esteem will elevate, a positive cycle will begin, and they will contribute to the growth of their communities.  This will be a motivating factor for this group of people to contribute their accomplishments and knowledge to their homelands, thereby creating an investment back into their community.

In these third world nations there are large amount of children and adults that work, attend school, and carry on their everyday lives without shoes. The objective of this project is to decrease the percentage of children that are unable to attend primary educational facilities and adults where unable to obtain gainful employment due to these unfortunate circumstances. In some of the poorer areas people go their entire lives without EVER wearing shoes. These very basic of necessities are a determinate factor for the absenteeism in schools and as a result research shows the illiteracy rate increases in the older population. The avocation of literacy will result in the future improvement of these communities. A secondary issue is the requirement of shoes to obtain adequate employment. This employment is essential in supporting ones family in these poverty stricken areas. Especially when you consider the average family has a minimum of three children per household to support.  By providing shoes to these regions we have succeeded in meeting the economic and educational objectives of the “Walk in my Shoes” program.

This project uses the resources of the local community to provide unwanted new and slightly used shoes as a donation for those in need. There is a large South and Central American population in the D.C. metropolitan area that will collaborate extensively in the gathering of these shoes, this will satisfy our goals. The religious predomination in El Salvador as well as other nations in Central and South America is catholic; therefore local churches will represent another resource to support this project. The transportation will be accomplished via air travel, with the distribution being completed by the members involved with the program. The satisfaction that it will bring to those involved and to the communities of El Salvador will be immeasurable.  Distributing the shoes in person will allow for all the members in the communities to value the help even more.


Background Demographics of El Salvador:

Population:  6,948,073 (July 2007 est.)

Age structure: 
0-14 years: 36.1% (male 1,281,889/female 1,228,478)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 1,942,674/female 2,134,154)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 158,276/female 202,602) (2007 est.)

Median age:
Total: 22 years
Male: 20.9 years
Female: 23.2 years (2007 est.)