Shoes and socks for amputees with One Shoe SA

Rolling Inspiration
By Rolling Inspiration
3 Min Read

One Shoe SA is an initiative that supplies amputees who are waiting for a prosthesis with shoes and socks. It began when The Scottish Group donated its out-of-season sample sale stock to One Shoe SA founder Allyson Ogston.

“We have started with well over 100 single shoes, ranging from funky Palladiums (ultra-hot in New York at the moment) and up-market Ben Sherman Shoes to preppy Pringle dress shoes. There is even a range of gorgeous kids’ shoes,” notes Ogston.

The Scottish Group also donated a large box of sample single socks from Pringle and Toe Porn. The company now donates to One Shoe SA at least twice a year. The first amputee to receive shoes from the organisation was 36-year-old Tenduka Denya from Johannesburg. He received five shoes and 10 socks.

In August, One Shoe SA made another donation of Ben Sherman and Geoffrey Beene shoes as well as Pringle and Toe Porn socks to a man in Lanseria, who has not yet been able to pay for a prosthesis.

The cause is very close to Ogston’s heart, as she herself is an amputee.

“I have been an amputee for 22 years. While I am fully mobile and upright today and I have no need for single shoes, it wasn’t always this way,” she notes. She urges companies to donate shoes to the organisation.

“With an international, prestigious company like The Scottish Group paving the way here, I’m hoping to get other companies on board. We know they have shoes and we know they battle to offload them. We can fill that gap. There is a real need in South Africa, and we can make this initiative work,” she says.

She also encourages South Africans to get involved either by donating small to medium containers, shoes or money to the organisation or by assisting with delivering the products.

“We have a Facebook page called One Shoe SA. We hoping to source amputees in need and distribute our stock as well as encourage South African amputees to start a line of communication with one another and do shoe swops through the Facebook page. Programmes similar to One Shoe SA are operational in many countries. We need this to work here as well,” Ogston concludes.

You can contact One Shoe SA on email at a.ogston1@gmail.com or visit the Facebook page.

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