shoes for a cause

When you find something wonderful, you want to share it with everyone you know.

Well, I found something wonderful.

And I want to share it with you. 

Let me tell you about Sseko Designs.  {pronounced say-co} In a nutshell, Sseko sells shoes for a cause.  But really, it's so much more than that. 

Sseko is a self proclaimed "not-just-for-profit" company that manufactures and sells versatile & comfy sandals.  Your first pair of Ssekos comes with one set of soles and one set of straps.  The straps are also sold individually in a number of different colors and patterns.  You can swap the straps out and tie them in many ways to create different looks.

*Thanks to Ashlie Fulmer Photography for sharing these beautiful pictures.

So now you see how fabulous the sandals are.  But that's not the best part.  By manufacturing and selling these shoes, this company is making a difference in the lives of women halfway accross the world.

From the Sseko website:

If you happen to find yourself in Kampala, Uganda, make your way to the Old Taxi Park. From there, grab a taxi van to Matuga. Jump off at the end of the line, and hop on a boda boda to the Cornerstone Leadership Academy. After a (bumpy) ride along a dirt road, you will find yourself in the company of some of the most intelligent and committed young women in Uganda. These women are graduates of the Cornerstone Leadership Academy and employees of Sseko Designs.

Sseko Designs was created to help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

As you can see, this company is doing so much more than selling sandals.  They're changing lives and making a positive impact on the economic development of Uganda. 

I was so moved when I learned what Sseko was doing for these young women in Uganda.  So I bought a pair of sandals and a few straps.  And wouldn't you know, I get compliments on them every time I wear them.  Each time someone mentions them, I stop to tell them just a bit about the way these shoes are helping women in Uganda.  I hope that some of these people have gone to the Sseko website to learn more.  Or maybe even shared Sseko's story with a friend or purchased a pair of shoes.  I hope some of you will go to the website  to learn more or pick up a pair of Sseko's awesome sandals. 

There are so many terrible things to read about, hear about, talk about these days.  Let's spread a little good news, shall we? 

Thanks to my good friend Ashlie for sharing Sseko's story with me.  Ashlie and her husband are in the process of adopting a baby from Ethiopia and have written a blog about their adoption journey. We're all very excited for Ashlie & Ryan and can't wait for them to get word on their child.  They're going to be fantastic parents.  Go check out Ashlie's blog & tell her I sent you!

*This is not a compensated post. I was not paid or compensated in any way for this post.