It all started with a six-year-old girl named Debbie, who lives with her family by the rubbish dump near our base here. Like all people who live in that community, her parents earn 10p or 20p a day — enough to buy a handful of carrots or a small piece of bread. The people there search through the rubbish dump for anything that can be reused or sold, and when the rubbish truck arrives with a fresh load they stop what they're doing and hurry over to see what they can find.
Since February 2013, a few of us have been visiting the rubbish dump every Friday afternoon to play games with the kids, tell them about Jesus, sing worship songs and do some basic wound care.
A couple of months ago we came across Debbie. She had stepped on a nail. It went right through the bottom of her foot to the top. The wound was weeping and very infected.
Iris staff member Rachel Wallace said, “Her family couldn't afford medication and they had no medical understanding of how dangerous such a wound could be. Most of the people at the rubbish dump have never had a Tetanus injection. We took Debbie to hopsital, gave her the Tetanus shot, and cleaned the wound. If it wasn't for that, she probably wouldn't have a foot today.”
Rachel added, “I had to hold Debbie down as her wound was cleaned. I hope I never have to do that again! But now her wound is completely healed and she still has her foot!”
To Rachel and many others across the world, Debbie's injury highlighted the need for shoes among the people at the dump, especially the children.
Rachel said, “The people at the dump go barefoot on the rubbish heap, which is full of broken glass and metal. Those who do have shoes often wear odd ones or ones that don't fit properly. The children play by planks of wood with three-inch rusty nails sticking out. They live in conditions you'd never let you own children play in. It's heartbreaking for the parents.”
When Rachel shared this story in her newsletter and on Facebook, there was a massive response from many of her contacts across the world asking what they could do to help.
Rachel said, “They couldn't sit there knowing there were children out there without shoes. I told them that we can buy over 20 pairs of shoes with 20 pounds (about 30 dollars). Many sent money and others put shoes in boxes and sent them to us. The shoes we give out have really good soles to protect their feet. It's so good seeing them still wearing the shoes six weeks later. Sometimes the mothers will hold their children's feet in the air towards us. I can't blame them as that might be their only chance of getting their child a pair of shoes. Many people didn't realise that there are people out there who can't afford a pair of shoes. I saw a girl at the rubbish dump who wasn't wearing the shoes we had given her anymore. When I asked her where they were, she told me her family had to sell them to buy rice."
Thanks to our supporters, Iris Madagascar has now given out over 100 pairs of shoes to children in the community.
“The giving out of shoes is a beautiful expression of God's love that goes hand in hand with our teaching and songs," Rachel said. "It's an expression of the love and change God wants to bring to the community.”