Happy feet: School shoe outreach program

PENANG – Happy Feet is a nationwide community driven initiative to assist Tamil school students. Brand new school shoes, a pair of socks and shoe whiteners are handed-out to poor students.

Happy Feet is a nationwide community driven initiative to assist Tamil school students. Brand new school shoes, a pair of socks and shoe whiteners are handed-out to poor students.

This programme aims to reduce the burden of poor families who struggle to buy complete sets of uniforms for their children.

More than RM21,000 of public funds have been collected for this programme and The Educational, Welfare And Research Foundation (EWRF) was appointed as an independent auditor to ensure the public fund is managed with integrity.

Overall 12 percent of Tamil schools in Malaysia has received school shoes and this could be the biggest initiative done by loose group of volunteers unattached to any organisation for Tamil schools in Malaysia.

On February 17, 2012 Kedah volunteers from The Mind, an organisation led by Dr Vinayagamoorthy has visited nine Tamil schools in Kuala Ketil area to distribute school shoes to needy pupils.

SJK (T) Ladang Kuala Muda HD, SJK (T) Ladang Katumba, SJK (T) Ladang Dublin 7, SJK (T) Ladang Kuala Ketil, SJK (T) Ladang Sungai Bongkok, SJK (T) Ladang Kim Seng, SJK (T) Ladang Malakoff, SJK (T) Ladang Badenoh, SJK (T) Ladang Binjol are the nine targeted Tamil schools which received school shoes from The Mind.

The organisation hopes that these kind of activities will build a bridge of network between Tamil schools and the NGO to get closer on issues surrounding Tamil schools.

Sathis Kumar