About Us
Although the United States is facing an economic crunch, many are lining department stores to fulfill holiday wish lists. On that list may be the latest Air Jordans while globally there are millions of children desiring only a pair of shoes
According to statistics from the World Bank Group, every year Americans spend $256.0 billion on clothing and $50.7 billion on shoes.
Around the world there are over 300 million children walking around shoeless. Every year over one million of those children die from preventable diseases caused by the lack of proper shoes.
The mission of MADI Inc is to improve the quality of life for people in Africa by providing them with basic human necessities such as shoes. The founder of MADI, Mr.Tita, was inspired to serve the impoverish population of Africa over a year ago after a business trip to Uganda and Malawi in Southern Africa in the 2008
He was saddened by the living conditions in Uganda in particular the enormous amount of men, women and children walking around barefoot and half naked.
Shoes are a rarity for people in the impoverished parts of Africa to the point that some never have a new pair of shoes in their lives. Research by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that there are many hazards associated with going barefoot in contaminated soil, dirt water, and sand.
One of the most deadly is hookworm disease that can lead to parasitic infections in barefoot individuals. Parasites also breed in stagnant water in which many children swim and even drink from when necessary. If left untreated, these parasites can result in internal poisons, the loss of limbs, chronic illness and even death.
As Mr. Tita prepared to depart to America from Uganda, he left his pair of snickers and shirt to his friend Abubakar who didn't have any shoe. Overwhelmed by the happiness he saw exhibited by Abubakar, the idea to start a drive to provide basic needs for the people of Uganda was born.
Thus, an initiative in January 2010 was launched to collect new and gently-used shoes, clothes, bags, household's items to help these poor people. Over the last two years alone, MADI has collected and distributed basic needs to people in Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi in Africa. Donations to the project have been received from supporters in North America.
The initiative has also sparked several schools to get involved and launch their own shoe drive. Through the Help of vice Principal Steve sherbet, and Ms. Sara Shaw an assistant principal, The STMA schools are running a drive to collect shoes and clothes with a goal to ship 5,000 pairs of shoes through MADI, Inc. by June 2010.
