From medical waste to school shoes
MY Walk, a social development, environmental sustainability and enterprise development initiative that reclaims polyvinyl chloride from health-care waste and turns it into shiny new school shoes for children, has been recognised with the Nedbank Green Economy Award for non-profit organisations.
The organisation received this top award in their category at the recent Trialogue Business in Society 2023 Conference.
Delanie Bezuidenhout, general manager of My Walk, which was established in partnership with Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care, is no stranger in ensuring that children can walk the walk in brand-new shoes.
Since February 2020, My Walk has put quality school shoes on the feet of more than 100 000 children and prevented more than 75 252kg of health-care waste going to landfill.
These including drip bags and polyvinyl chloride tubing, reclaimed from 20 participating Netcare hospitals in Gauteng.
For each ton of polyvinyl chloride material recycled and repurposed to make My Walk school shoes, 1.5 tons of greenhouse gases are prevented from entering the atmosphere.
“This award reaffirms that through embracing a circular economy, green solutions such as this can fulfil the material needs of business while simultaneously benefiting society, in this case by supporting education, job creation and enterprise development,” Bezuidenhout said.
Their mission is to use their sustainable and innovative solution for health-care waste to ultimately reach every child in South Africa, and in time the continent, who does not have a pair of school shoes, said Dr Nceba Ndzwayiba, Netcare’s group director of human resources and transformation, who is also chairperson of the My Walk board.
According to Ndzwayiba, they would not have reached this point if not for the sponsorships from all the individuals and organisations who support the My Walk initiative.
“Each donation to put new shoes on children’s feet helps to germinate our country’s potential for inclusive economic growth. From schoolchildren in remote rural villages to urban kids, a pair of new school shoes represents a world of possibility that education and knowledge can unlock,” he said.
Colin Sheen, MD of Adcock Ingram Critical Care, who are also a partner in the initiative, said that school shoes are sadly out of reach for many of the 5 million children in quintile 1 and 2 schools in South Africa.
“There is still so much room to make a difference in the lives of these children by removing this practical barrier to education,” he said.
As winter approaches, My Walk calls on the public and organisations to consider investing in putting shoes on a child’s feet for only R35 per pair, the price of a small cappuccino.
On icy winter mornings, it is especially painful for a child to walk to school barefoot or in inadequate footwear, the organisation said in calling on people and companies to open their hearts.
One pair of shoes for a learner costs R35, five pairs for five learners will cost R175 and10 pairs for 10 learners will cost only R350.
To enquire about bulk corporate orders, sponsorships or donations, email Delanie Bezuidenhot on Delanie.bezuidenhout@mywalk.org.za