MANILA, Philippines - This month, Rated K reached a milestone: It donated its one-millionth pair of slippers to a 10-year-old girl from Rodriguez, Rizal. Grade 4 student Shiela Mae Autencio, who walks to school with her worn-out slippers, beamed with joy as she received her new pair of slippers and other surprise gifts from Rated K host Korina Sanchez.
Shiela, like many other poor children from all over the country, did makeshift repairs on her rubber slippers so she can still use them. She used wire she picked up from the streets to make her slippers wearable.
Since December 2007, Rated K has been donating slippers to poor kids, particularly children who attend school barefoot. Today, through the efforts of the program and its partners and countless donors, more than one million pairs of slippers have been given away to poor kids from up North in Cagayan to down South in Mindanao.
The impetus for this charity began five years ago when Korina went to Agusan del Norte for a coverage on schistosomiasis. But what struck her most was the children who had no slippers to protect their feet.
“It blew my mind. I didn’t know kids didn’t have slippers anywhere in that place,†recalled Korina.
Many children in far-flung areas grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores, working at ricefields or going to school, these children are at risk. The ground there cuts up their little feet.
“Even if they had slippers, these would be cut up, with huge holes, some kept together with straws and strings. It is heartbreaking. When I ask them why they wouldn’t get a new pair which costs P25, the kids would break down and cry and say that they need whatever money they have for food. It can be a bit too much to fathom. And a pair of slippers not only protects these kids’ feet. They restore the dignity of the children,†Korina said.
For five years, Rated K has been showing hundreds and hundreds of kids attending school barefoot. Some of these kids are from Metro Manila. Through these touching stories, hearts opened and donations were received from people from all walks of life, as far away as North America through The Filipino Channel (TFC).
But the advocacy and the charity are far from over. Now that people have seen what a pair of slippers can do to change the lives of poor children, volunteers and kind-hearted individuals of different backgrounds want to help.
In 2013, Rated K vows to give away in one year what it did in five years — one million more pairs of slippers to impoverished children. “We will need the help of many for this. And so many are willing. It’s only P25 for a pair of rubber slippers that restores health, brings happiness and gives hope for these children.â€