On December 2, a member of the Sama Team decided to support the EHHR Barefoot Campaign and to wear one pair of shoes every day for a month. First week was all about snow, this week it was about freezing (literally) and a homeless man. Jessica shares with you her second week wearing the same pair of shoes.

“My first week was difficult because I had to wear my leather boots while it was snowing; I would have given anything for a pair of Moon Boots! This second week was about cold and my feet were freezing. Leather is not great to protect from cold. But I had to keep wearing these shoes because I signed Every Human Has Right’s pledge and I took up the challenge to wear one pair of shoes for a month. So everyday I was cold and everyday it reminded me how hard it can be to wear the same pair of shoes. I thought it was hard but I encountered someone in the street, an homeless man wearing heavily used leather boots…

I never thought wearing everyday the same shoes could have this impact on me. I see everything differently and before I would have seen this guy and didn’t care about the shoes he was wearing but on that morning, it was the first time it caught my attention. This man was sleeping under a cardboard box and I saw his feet. The boots were so used, one of the sole was half gone and I was able to see his sock. It was 8 in the morning and it was freezing outside. So I felt privileged to wear my comfortable, brand new boots and once again I realized wearing a usable pair of shoes is not for everyone in our world… Even in France.

When I arrived, my feet were hurting and I took my shoes off for a while to warm them. This is when the photo was taken and they dubbed my feet ‘scary-feet’. You will soon know what my Sama-friends were referring to. My third week has just started!”

Rendezvous next week for ‘One pair of shoes for a month’ Week 3!