When members of BYU’s Global Supply Chain Association learned that Gideon George was holding shoe drives for children in Nigeria, they wanted to get involved too.
Over the past few years, George has been teaming up with TimeOut4Africa, a charity that helps donate athletic shoes and school supplies to children in Minna, Nigeria. When he was younger, George received a pair of shoes from TimeOut4Africa himself.
This semester, the Global Supply Chain Association teamed up with George, TimeOut4Africa and the Black Student Union to hold a series of donation drives they have called “Sneakers for Africa.”
Courage Tamakloe is a senior from Ghana. He is also the Global Supply Chain Association’s vice president and has worked to organize this semester’s Sneakers for Africa drives.
Tamakloe has been working with professors, sponsors, and shipping companies over the past year to plan funding and shipping logistics. “Our goal is to fill a 20 foot container with shoes and backpacks,” Tamakloe said.
Tamakloe said that the Global Supply Chain Association hopes to collect enough shoes by the end of the month. After that, a truck will drive the donations to Washington, D.C., where TimeOut4Africa will then handle shipping to Minna.
In order to collect enough shoes, Tamakloe reached out to the Black Student Union and George to help plan donation drives at events. “Courage wanted an all-black team to make it all feel more authentic,” Benjamin Borgoyne, the Black Student Union’s creative director said. Borgoyne has created and distributed flyers for the Sneakers for Africa drives.
In September, the Global Supply Chain Association held a Sneakers for Africa kickoff concert at the Velour. In order to preserve authenticity, the concert’s lineup consisted solely of black artists. “We wanted people there to experience African music,” Tamakloe said.
Tamakloe said that attendees did not have to pay an entrance fee. Instead, they had to donate a pair of sneakers or a backpack in order to get into the concert.
The Global Supply Chain Association continued to collect sneakers at other events. Club members stood at LaVell Edwards Stadium during the Boise State and University of Virginia football games with donation bins for the shoes.
Tamakloe said the club will also be collecting shoes at the Marriott Center Friday during the San Diego State basketball game.
George expressed his passion for working on the Sneakers for Africa project with Tamakloe. “Courage is my brother,” he said. “We have the best interest of the kids of Nigeria in our hearts.”