The Shoe That Grows: A pair that poor kids won’t outgrow for five years

By NewsGram Staff Writer

The Shoe That Grows project came into being with the initiative taken by Kenton Lee, the inventor of shoes that can be resized (to a larger size or vice versa) and used for five years.

While he was in Nairobi the sight of a little girl wearing shoes that were smaller for her feet made him think, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a shoe that could adjust and expand — so that kids always had a pair of shoes that fit?"

Children physically grow faster, so they outgrow their shoes a little too fast. Poor children cannot depend on donated sandals owing to the same problem. Lee's The Shoe That Grows is a unique project which is part of an organization committed to "practical compassion."

Adjustable shoes for kids among kindergarten, 5^th grade and 9^th grade were created by Lee, as a result of his noble thought. They can grow or rather be adjusted to five different sizes which mean that they are to last for a good five years.

The project claims that the shoes are made of good-quality leather and compressed rubber ensuring durability.

Lee expressed his change of opinion on the importance of shoes in kids' life after his invention: "I used to think shoes weren't a big deal. If kids didn't have shoes, they're just running around barefoot and they're happy and they're fine."

"But when they're running around without shoes or with shoes that don't fit, they're getting cuts, they're getting scrapes, they're getting infections… when they get sick, they miss school, they can't help their families. A lot of their opportunities are lost."

The Shoe That Grows project, thus, worked to design the adjustable shoe in partnership with a shoe development company in the Northwest called Proof of Concept.

The project's site has put the shoes up for sale and a pair would cost around $30.