I have a confession to make.
I, a 21 year old man, have a favorite pair of shoes.
I know, I know, such a confession severely jeopardizes my claim to manhood. I can hear the insults coming in now… keep them coming! They’re well deserved! I feel like I need to go eat some bacon, shoot a wild animal, or go chop some wood to make up for myself. But, it’s true. I have a favorite pair of shoes, and it’s not only that; I love them dearly. Allow me to explain…
Firstly, the shoes are TOMS. If you’ve heard of TOMS, feel free to skip to the next paragraph. If not, there are a few things that you should know. Yes, they are a shoe company, but they aren’t an ordinary shoe company. TOMS is based on the “One for One” business model. For every item you purchase (they now sell sunglasses in addition to shoes), one is donated to a less fortunate individual in an impoverished country around the world. So, when you buy a pair of shoes, you’re actually purchasing two pairs but only receiving one; the other pair is sent to a child in need in Latin America, Asia, or Africa. It’s actually a very ingenious business model and has really helped TOMS shoes blossom in popularity.
So, the shoes are TOMS. But they’re much more than that. They paint a picture. They tell a story. They cast a different light on life.
It starts with a simple concept. Imagine that the world is condensed to a village of 100 people. Let’s just say that you are one of these hundred, one of the four Americans in this village. You know these other 99 people personally. You know their names and their stories; you’ve shared their painful moments and their joyful ones. You are a united 100, confined to a small area and dependent upon one another for survival.
But there’s something that disrupts your unity.
This village is no ordinary village. It is true to the world. Wrapped up in it are all the races, religions, incomes, and living standards of Earth. Each person, each of your friends, is a true representative of 1% of the world’s population. Let me introduce you to your fellow citizens.
Of the 100 people*:
- 25 have no shelter
- 43 live on less than $2 a day
- 48 have no sanitation
- 3 are slaves (or in some form of bondage)
- 58 have parasites
- 14 are illiterate
- 33 have no electricity
- 1 has AIDS
- 23 drink polluted water
- 30 are unemployed
- 40 have no shoes
- 20 are malnourished
- only 8 have internet
These are the citizens in your village. How does the way you live compare to the other 99?
That is the story that my shoes tell. Printed on them are the statistics that are shown above. It may depress you; it probably should. But it produces a different reaction in me. It sobers me, yes, but it also makes me incredibly grateful. No matter how bad my day is, I can’t not be thankful. There are so many things I take for granted that others lack completely. I may not see it when examining my American peers, but I really have had life handed to me on a silver platter. It is statistics like these that galvanize me to move forward differently, to live life wherever I am with a global perspective.
So above all, I want you to realize that you are rich. I want you to realize that you are rich. (Seriously though, click on that link and see where your income or potential income falls globally, it will take you two seconds.) At this point, I could give you links to a bunch of worldwide relief organizations and tell you to donate some money, but I don’t want you to do that. I’m not trying to incite an impulsive reaction from guilt. I want to change your perspective. At the very least, I want you to be more globally aware. I want you to see that there is life outside our country and problems outside your own. I’m not trying to say that your issues are meaningless; I know that they are not. But I want you to know the issues of your fellow village citizens. I want you to see their faces and understand their struggles. I want you to see your place in this village and understand the great gifts you’ve been given. How you use those gifts is up to you…
*These statistics are taken straight from my shoes, Habitante Vegan Toms. They are several years old and I can’t verify that all of the numbers are 100% accurate. From the short research I did however, they all seemed to be at least within a few percentage points. I don’t think a deviation of one or two percent does anything to affect the point i’m trying to make. If you would like more detailed statistics or information about any country in the world, however, I have always found CIA World Factbook to be a useful source.
Leave a comment