From drip bags to school shoes

Learners of Ourief Primary School were excited to receive a pair of brand new school shoes from the My Walk initiative last Thursday (19 August).

Rina Vogler, a learning process facilitator at Partners for Possibility (PfP) contacted Delanie Bezuidenhout on the interesting concept of recycled school shoes.

PfP is a leadership development initiative that improves the quality of education in South Africa by capacitating school principals from under-resourced schools and enhancing their leadership skills through partnerships with business leaders.

Delanie, the general manager of My Walk, was very excited to inform Rina about the innovative partnership between Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care that turns used, uncontaminated PVD healthcare waste products into brand new school shoes. “Millions of used, non-hazardous hospital PVC drip bags, oxygen masks and associated tubing destined to become landfill are now recycled into premium-quality school shoes.

The school shoes itself are also 100 per cent recyclable, except for the laces,” says Delanie, who delivered the shoes to Ourief – each pair neatly packed in a shoebox.

A prototype of the school shoes was tested at three schools in 2019, to get first-hand feedback from learners on the design and comfort. The final unisex shoe design took into consideration the valuable feedback received from the learners. After that, the My Walk initiative was launched.

The morning at Ourief ended on a sweet note when the learners also feasted on a freshly baked cupcake, courtesy of PfP.

For more information about the recycled shoes, contact Delanie Bezuidenhout at 079 520 2559