The Great Shoe Crisis

The Great Shoe Crisis 9/18/2016

    
    Yes, there are many people in the world that are in desperate NEED of shoes. However, I don't feel that it is always the crisis that we perceive it as. 

    I admit, before I saw the light and hopped on the minimalist bandwagon, I couldn't even tell you how many shoes I owned. I am too ashamed to even estimate the number of shoes I had. Or, how about the number of shoes that I bought and only wore once? Yikes, I wasn't even into designer shoes, imagine if I was?! Anyway, I currently have 4 pairs of shoes and I couldn't be happier. 

     I must say, one of the things that I find most striking in Accra is how people dress, even if it's a quick trip to the market. It's the opposite of a quick trip to Walmart back home, where people wear jammies, throw on a pair of slippers and shuffle out the door with bed head. In Accra, people will wear a pressed dress shirt, slacks and dress shoes, even in the heat of the day. The women wear handmade dresses with the most vibrant prints you ever did see. Everyone looks fresh to death ALL the time.

     In the rural villages people still dress in fine clothing. Many of them are laborers so they may dress a bit more casual, but everyone is always presentable. So here is my shoe story. I used to feel bad for all of the children that ran around barefoot in the rural villages, I felt for some of the adults who were shoe-less as well. I felt bad until I climbed the highest mountain in Ghana. I had my fancy Keen hiking shoes on and I carried a Camelbak filled with water and snacks. I arrived at the top in awe of the spectacular pantomimic view before me. I had just hiked the highest mountain in the entire country! I was on top of the world! I didn't mind being completely winded, or the sweat that was stinging my eyes, or the fact that I smelled like the ape exhibit at Brookfield zoo. I was marinading in my sense of accomplishment. This is when I heard a sound behind me. I turned around to find 3 small boys that had just reached the summit of Afadjato mountain....the highest mountain in Ghana. They were not dripping in sweat, they were not carrying any water and they weren't wearing shoes! And, they came up the backside of the mountain that was way more steep and rugged! They also didn't seem to share my sense of accomplishment, they were hanging out like they had just meandered to the corner store for a soda!
     I have another shoe story. On campus, we have a private elementary school. One morning I was walking across campus to class. The elementary school students were on the track and they were practicing track and field events. I saw these kids effortlessly bounding over hurtles, sprinting and practicing the long jump. I stopped to admire their speed, agility and grace. Can you guess what I noticed? Half the kids weren't wearing shoes! It didn't seem to slow them down a bit. As a matter of fact, it was the kids without shoes that were performing the best! Ha, my mind wandered to a track at an American elementary school, I can only imaging the fancy, brand new shoes that those kids would be wearing and I could also picture them struggling to get their lazy butts over these hurtles. 
     I appreciate that there is a need to have shoes in certain circumstances, I wish the men on the construction crews here would all wear shoes. But if you look at the trend in our fancy American shoes, many people are opting for the minimalist style and there is also a movement to go barefoot as much as possible for the health of your feet. I almost feel like the hiking kids I saw and the elementary school students prefer being barefoot. Shoot, my favorite thing to do at the end of a long day is to kick off my shoes!