SHOE!…WE’VE MADE IT TO FRANCE!

Nyawonhle, our shoe-repair community transformation project, found its’ way to France of the proudly South African township origination and not of Parisian association 😉. Twenty-one young unemployed men from this community joined the first of our roll-outs for 2025, eager to learn the art of shoe repair.

Sixteen of our twenty-one students from this first class of 2025 are orphans. Some live with siblings in households in which no one is employed; others live with relatives in very challenging circumstances. Despite their respective circumstances, all twenty-one members of this promising group diligently applied themselves and are now well schooled in the skill of shoe repair, having recently graduated upon successful completion of the course. We wish them well in their future. Please keep them all in prayer.

NYAWONHLE (which means ‘beautiful feet’ in isisZulu) is AESA’s community transformation project designed to empower unemployed men in indigent communities with a skill in shoe repair over a ten-day intensive training course. It is intended to empower them both economical (this newly learned skill enabling them to become employable and/or to start up a small business of their own) and spiritually (as we use every opportunity to minister to them through the sharing of the Gospel message and counselling should the need arise). The project is ‘mobile’ and easily set up in communities in various geographical locations.

“How beautiful are your feet in their shoes, O king’s daughter! The curves of your legs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a good workman”

SONG OF SOLOMON 7:1

Gavin John – Communications Manager | South Africa