Heritage Junior High students put their best foot forward for service project

Heritage Junior High School students are putting their best foot forward to help a charity that provides children in Africa with new shoes.

The school’s National Junior Honor Society recently raised funds and made patterns for the non-profit Sole Hope.

“We felt this it was the best thing to do with our resources,” said Sriteja Malempati, one of the student organizers.

To support the organization, Heritage students collected 414 pairs of jeans that they are cutting into designs for children’s shoes.

NJHS president Mara Woods said the charity was selected by the students after they viewed materials about the organization’s work in Uganda, Africa.

“We liked the fact that this was something we could do with our own hands,” she said.

Woods said the shoes provide relief for the children working on their feet all day in industries. She also said it protects their feet from Jiggers, tiny insects that burrow into feet and lay eggs which multiply and damage tissue, cause pain and infections.

NJHS members will ship their denim cut-outs to the charity, which will then arrange to have them added to rubber soles for children as young as toddlers.

The organizers support the economy in Uganda by contracting for the shoes to be made by African merchants. Woods said community service is an important part of the Heritage honor society, with students each volunteering at least 20 hours as tutors or volunteering at school and community events.