Jose and his brother Reynaldo
I would like you to meet Jose. He is a 5-year old boy who lives in El Carrizo, a small village in southwestern Honduras. He and his older brother Reynaldo live beside the community Church in a small dwelling made of mud, sticks and. His home is about the size of a modest kitchen in Raleigh. Much of his day is spent walking to and from the community well with 5 gallon buckets filled with water. He has no toys to play with, no books to read or bikes to ride.
I met Jose on my trip to Honduras last year, when our group went down to build a house in El Carrizo. Jose and his brother made a lasting impact on everyone on the trip. His infectious smile lights up his face, so you can’t help but smile back when you see him. When we returned to El Carrizo this year, he was one of the first children to greet us. He took my hand and led me down the dirt road to say hello to all of our friends we made the past year. As we walked I looked down and noticed he was not wearing any shoes. I asked him where his shoes were, and a girl that had joined us on our walk told me he was so poor he did not have any shoes.
Six months earlier I put out a couple of flyers and a couple of boxes at my kids’ school to collect shoes for this trip. The families donated over 100 pairs of shoes. Crister Berg, owner of Vincents shoes, donated 3 large boxes as well. So when Jose and I, and the dozens of other children who joined us on our walk, got back to our truck there were shoes for most of the kids in El Carrizo.
Chaos ensued when we brought out the shoes. Despite having the kids line-up with reminders to be patient, shoes and hands were flying everywhere. After all the shoes had been given out and the chaos died down, I sat down and reflected on the entire process. Was the night I spent stuffing 150 pairs of shoes into 2 duffle bags, then hauling the hundred of pounds of shoes through 2 airports, and finally creating a small riot giving the shoes out actually worth it. Then I looked over, and Jose showed me his new, and only, pair of shoes… Look for the flyers and and boxes next September!
Jose with his new pair of shoes
