Like New Shoes? So Do These Kids!

There are times when I think, "I am not getting anywhere (with Kidzies).  Maybe I should do something else today."  And then in a somber moment of quietness, I remember that if I am not trying, that I am letting down so many people.  And, no, I don't mean my husband or child (although, I guess them, also).  But I mean a lot of kids in Romania, whom I've never meet, but I've promised to help put shoes on their bare feet.  Kidzies gives 3% of each and every sell we make to Sole by Soul and though that may not seem like a lot, it is enough to pick me up on those low days.  I hope that one day I get to go with Reita to Romania, but until then, here is how she so vividly describes her last trip, taken just a few months ago.

In just a few sentences, explain to me your charity:

Sole by Soul Charity reaches out to children
of poverty-stricken areas in the poorest regions of Romania.  100% of all tax deductible donations to Sole by Soul goes toward purchasing shoes for children who so desperately need them because of climate, terrain, sanitation and comfort.  My goal and mission is to reach children physically and spiritually one Sole by Soul. 

Why did you begin this?

On one of the coldest days in the spring of 2011, while I was visiting a small village in Romania, my heart was touched and changed forever.  It was on this day while wearing three layers of clothing and two pairs of socks that I watched as children ran toward me with no socks, no shoes, barefoot on the cold and rocky, dirt road.  It was at that very moment with tears streaming down my cheeks that I told God, “If You will allow my feet to touch the ground back in the United States, I will work diligently to raise funds to come back to Romania so shoes can be put on the feet of as many of the precious children as possible.”  

Why did you pick Romania?

Romania sort of picked me in a sense.  As a gospel singer/artist, I was asked in the late 1990s if I would help by traveling the tri-state area to raise funds for a Church that was being built in Moldova Noua, Romania.  I have always been one to help with benefits, charities, etc.  I felt if God gave me the talent to sing He meant for me to use it for any brother in need and that included brothers and sisters in a foreign land.  I traveled along with a couple of other artist for a couple of years and helped in raising thousands of dollars.  Because I had been instrumental in gaining the last large amount money needed for the completion of the church in Moldova, I was asked to travel to their country to sing at a pre-dedication service.  That was in 2001.  I went, I sung, I saw needs in which I had never seen before.  The rest is history.  Each return God reveals to me even more why Romania called MY name and she keeps calling out louder and louder and I cannot let her down.  I have stated too many times to count that when I leave Romania each time another piece of my heart stays behind.  

What did you do to prepare for the trip from which you just returned?

As I shared of the experience above in which this charity came about, you can imagine the brain storming that started one year in advance for this year’s journey!  Preparing was a twelve-month process.  I had never undertaken a task of this magnitude before.  The websites to be built, the networking, the charity name, and the legal aspect of it all I thought was a huge undertaking, but then came the funding – How in the world was I to get other people to see what I had seen with only the words from my lips, the photos from my camera or the scars that were left on my heart?  I knew I needed funding if any of the 2012 work to be accomplished.  I just put it all out there. I said here it is, now have faith someone’s heart will be broken for those children.  It started happening.  The doors were opened for speaking and singing engagements, private donations came and the came the news that Kidzies wanted to be a sponsor with a percentage of sales going to the charity.  From then right up to packing day May 8^th, 2012, all focus was on funding because without it I would not be equipped with the necessary tools needed.  Departure day, I boarded the plane and for the first time in a year, I could really breathe.  Stress is a major factor when you have made a vow to keep a promise to a child.  I did not make this vow only to see it fail!  But good, kind-hearted American people made my dream a reality.  My bags were packed and on the plane, and we were ready to go buy some SHOES and see children smile that had not had anything to smile about in a very long time.

Tell us a little bit about an average day there.

The day started early by 7am and bedtime was around 12am.  Street ministry is always on the agenda with this being an opportunity to keep an eye open for children without shoes and for children and adults without food and hungry.  As I stated before, my mission statement is reaching each child with Sole by Soul.  The ones who are on my team are searching for the ones who need help both physically and spiritually, so we may spend several hours in poverty-stricken areas where buildings that are not habitual house families who have no other shelter but the shells of the open spaces.  We try to feed both their hearts and stomachs.  

What was your personal biggest accomplishment this trip?

About five miles outside the village we were staying in on this last trip, was a group of Roma people who lived in abandoned buildings.  If you can imagine foundation blocks stacked on top of each other with the ability to look straight through them, you can picture what these makeshift homes were like.  We were able to find these families with the aide of one of the Romanian Christian friends who speaks English.  He is a good man who helps all the poor he has the ability and funds to help.  He prepared us for what was to be seen, but his words were not enough for the sites we witnessed on that cold May afternoon.  In one family’s home lived eighteen people.  The rooms were so small that only the four twin beds in which they all slept served as the furniture in which to sit on.  Conditions were so bad that words cannot or will not explain what was witnessed that day by our American team.  Bugs were crawling up the children’s legs as we watched them smile with excitement knowing someone was there who cared.  We more than cared!  We hungered to do something for these forgotten people.  We fought tears as long as we could with no prevail.  We witnessed rain along with the crawling bugs coming down the walls of home after home that we entered.  We watched children in the wet cold soil covered in what we could only imagine it to be walking in those areas as they had done everyday before our visit that afternoon.  We made a promise we would be back with shoes for ALL the children and FOOD for every hungry stomach.  Yes, my greatest accomplishment was the return to that village with enough food to last for a while for all of the families, even a hot meal that was spooned into women's and children’s pots for that day.  Then time for the SHOES!  Their little feet were so dirty that a tub had to be filled with rainwater so that I could wash their feet before their shoes could even be tried on.  That’s what Sole By Soul is all about!!!!!

What was your biggest challenge?

Finding shoes is always a hard thing to do in these small villages.  It is a huge challenge to find sizes needed in the small outdoor markets.  You must visit many vendors with hopes of finding all of the sizes needed.  The task can become very stressful with the language barrier and the money exchange.  My dream is to be able to someday find a way to get crates shipped from the US to overseas free of charge.

Would you do anything different to prepare for next year's trip?

Yes.  I am in the process of working with a professional camera and media company, Emerging Productions of Paducah, Kentucky, to build around the promotion, marketing and visual aides required for reaching a broader scope of people.  We must bring awareness to our Community, Region, State and Nation, if possible.

How can more people help?

We truly take for granted what we have in this country.  We are rich in so many ways.  Only $3 to $4 will buy a child a pair of shoes in the country of Romania.  This one pair of shoes will have to last this child for at least a year OR until they are completely worn out.  By just giving a little or a lot, you can make such a difference.

**You can now click on this link to donate:  DONATE TO SOLE BY SOUL

Anything else you’d like to add?

Until the spring of 2011, I never was one to ask for help in such a manner as this.  But on that cold April day, my life changed.  I knew it wasn’t about me anymore.  It was so much bigger.  It was in the eyes of the children I looked into that cried for help, but the cries were silent.  But that still, small voice in me was screaming, “You have got to do something, Reita!”  I am only the means of carrying the good news – you the people are the heroes.  I take no credit.  Without God and without YOU this work could not and cannot go on.  From my heart and all the hearts of the silent children in the country of Romania, May God Bless each and all.

You can visit the Sole by Soul webpage here or read more about them on our site here.