SM Store Share Shoes Program in Isabela
Students of Diasan Elementary School in Echague, Isabela received new pairs of shoes from SM Store and SM Share Movement.
Shoes are essential in one’s journey through life, especially for students. With a pair of good shoes, they will not only be able to fulfill their daily tasks with ease, but it can also inspire them to work hard and take little steps to achieve their dream.
For most students in the city, a school bus or a stroll down the sidewalk are their usual commute. But for students in the province, it is a different story.
Samantha, a student from the Diasan Elementary School, shared the hardships she and her classmates face to reach school.
“Malayo po ang nilalakad namin ng nakapaa. Madulas po ‘pag umuulan at mahirap, maputik ang daan. ‘Yung mga iba po na nakatira sa may bundok, naglalakad po sila ng malayo. (My classmates and I have to walk a long way to get to our school. When the rainy season comes, the slopes become slippery and dangerous which makes it harder for us. The others who live near the mountain walk even farther),” Samantha said.
Diasan Elementary School is tucked in the middle of the Barangay Diasan, a remote farming community in Isabela with over 600 residents. Students like Samantha have to walk an hour or more on rough terrain to get to and from school and are sometimes forced to skip classes if the river is swollen due to heavy rains.
Despite the challenges, one would be surprised at the great lengths they are willing to go to for their education. The simple gift of a new pair of shoes will allow them to walk to and back to school in comfort and safety.
These are the kinds of stories that inspired the SM Store’s Share Shoes program to reach to the community to continue its mission of bringing joy – through the gift of shoes that can help make the journey of the students easier and more comfortable.
Sharing the gift of new shoes
Most students in Diasan have not set foot in a mall before, let alone a shop selling shoes, so as a treat for the kids, employee volunteers from The SM Store, Savemore and SM Foundation transformed one of the classrooms into a shoe store. They assisted the kids in choosing and fitting their very own shoes from the display of clogs, sneakers, sandals, flats and slip-ons donated by The SM Store MLC Shoes and Bags, and SM’s retail affiliates Crocs and Simply Shoes.
The employee and community volunteers also set up a “Feet Washing Corner” before the shoe fitting to impart the importance of taking care of one’s feet. The kids could not hide their joy as they selected and tried on their new footwear.
