Shoeless gang go barefoot in Africa mission

These youngsters put their old and worn-out shoes to good use on their last day of school.
Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity.  Pictured are Ethan Brook, 10, Sam Gardner, 9, Lizanne Fernandes, 10, Emily Dennehy, 10 and Sarah Lees, 10.Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity.  Pictured are Ethan Brook, 10, Sam Gardner, 9, Lizanne Fernandes, 10, Emily Dennehy, 10 and Sarah Lees, 10.
Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity. Pictured are Ethan Brook, 10, Sam Gardner, 9, Lizanne Fernandes, 10, Emily Dennehy, 10 and Sarah Lees, 10.

Children at Northfold Community Primary School in Cleveleys headed home barefoot on Friday after donating their old shoes to poverty-stricken youngsters in third world countries.

Humanitarian organisation Unicef and Clarks shoe retailer organised the ‘Shoe Share’ to raise money to provide school equipment to children in several African countries.

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Year One teacher Amy Tindall said: “The kids were really keen to take part and really excited.

Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity.  L-R Phoebe Ritchie, 9, Amber Davis, 10, Ben Pennington, 10, and Shane Wilson, 10.Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity.  L-R Phoebe Ritchie, 9, Amber Davis, 10, Ben Pennington, 10, and Shane Wilson, 10.
Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity. L-R Phoebe Ritchie, 9, Amber Davis, 10, Ben Pennington, 10, and Shane Wilson, 10.

“Each year we like to do a different charity event. We have helped some close to home, and we wanted to do something for a charity futher afield.

“Any shoes that are in a good enough condition will be given to children in African countries to wear, and any others will be sold and the money used to buy equipment for schools.

“At a guess I would say we’ve had about 200 pairs of shoes.”

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Unicef and Clarks have been gathering old or unwanted shoes since 2008.

Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity.  L-R Phoebe Ritchie, 9, Amber Davis, 10, Ben Pennington, 10, and Shane Wilson, 10.Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity.  L-R Phoebe Ritchie, 9, Amber Davis, 10, Ben Pennington, 10, and Shane Wilson, 10.
Pupils at Northfold Primary will be donating their shoes to charity. L-R Phoebe Ritchie, 9, Amber Davis, 10, Ben Pennington, 10, and Shane Wilson, 10.

For every tonne of shoes, a donation is made to Unicef which goes towards funding education around the world, with the initiative raising more than £1m to date.

Amy, who runs the Northfold Primary School council, said: “They put their school shoes on the desk and they all went home without their shoes.

“I did tell them to bring some spare shoes to put on just in case.

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“If their school shoes were new they could bring in some old shoes that didn’t fit any more, so they all got to take part.

“All the children were really happy to take part and once we have got in contact with Unicef they’ll be able to see the impact of it.”

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