HISTORY OF SHOE4AFRICA
» December 1995 Shoe4Africa starts in Eldoret, Kenya. Operating by sending over shoes to Kenyan athletes. The first athlete to receive shoes in the following year goes to Europe and runs a 61-minute half marathon in Italy.
Yet another athlete wins a medal at the 1998 Commonwealth games. The program rolls nicely supported mainly from personal sponsorship.
» June 1999 Shoe4Africa begins supporting runners in Tanzania.
» January 2000 The Shoe4Africa name comes about.
» January 2001 Shoes given to a young boy, named Fabiano Joseph. Francis Robert Naali picks up a pair of shoes at the Shoe4Africa Tanzania sponsored race, as does Samson Ramadhani.
» August 2002 Francis Naali wins the Commonwealth Games Marathon.
» October 2005 Fabiano wins the World Half Marathon Championships.
» November 2005 Pieter Langerhorst and Lornah Kiplagat get involved. Sitting in a Starbucks coffee shop in Manhattan on 57th ST (as they are prone to be doing) Pieter Langerhorst and Toby Tanser decide to take the next step, and make Shoe4Africa more directional.
» January 2006 The first signature Shoe4Africa race is held in Kenya, it is the largest women's only event in the country. The event, at Pieter & Lornah Kiplagat's camp, is held on a Friday, yet it is a huge success.
[watch the 10km video]
[watch the 2km health walk video]
[watch the health facts race day video]
The organization gets Not for Profit status in New York City. The Board of Directors is formed.
» March 2006 Samson wins the Commonwealth Games marathon in Melbourne.
» May 2006 Shoe4Africa goes to Western Kenya and holds a race in Nyamira. A grandma wins the accompanying health walk, her grand daughter watches, is inspired and starts running. A year later she is at the national championships running as an accomplished athlete!
» June 2006 Signature race series moves to Tanzania. With over 1550 runners the event is the largest women's only event in Tanzania.
[pictures from the Tanzanian race]
Shoe4Africa has a presence in Morocco.
[see pictures from Morocco's race]
Shoe4Africa sponsors two school girls for a four year athletic scholarship Farida Makula, and Asia Swahele. Two weeks later Farida wins the national 1500 & 5000m title. Asia is second in the 15km.
Joy Dushey, the Vice President of S4A, holds a party in her apartment to celebrate the NGO status, with Narcisco Rodriguez as the guest of honor. Over 300-people turn up, 90% bringing at least a pair of shoes!
» October 2006 Chanel Model of the year Samantha Tannehill model's the new Shoe4Africa singlet. Another Supermodel, the charming and stunning Kim Alexis, joins the Board.
» November 2006 Leppin agrees to sponsor Shoe4Africa in 2007 for a two year deal.
» December 2006 Farida is named Tanzanian female athlete of the year. The second Shoe4Africa race in Iten, and the third in Kenya for the year, has 2,900 participants, flagged off by Shoe4Africa board member 'Nick Goose' Anthony Edwards. Edwards' wife, Jeanine Lobell, and the kids, Esmae & Wally, complete the Healthwalk with Susan Sirma, Phyllis Keino, and Lornah.
[pictures from the Iten event]
In the same month we hold another event in Tanzania.
[pictures from the Tanzanian event]
» January 2007 The Shoe4Africa Moses Kiptanui Training Camp opens and The Shoe4Africa United Football team is formed.
» February 2007 The PK Running Store in Holland Becomes the Official Dutch Running Store to Support Shoe4Africa. The Ivy League helps Shoe4Africa at the heps.
» March 2007 Anthony Edwards joins the Shoe4Africa Board of Director's
» April 2007 Another great race in Tanzania.
[pictures from the Tanzanian race]
» June 2007 Shoe4Africa releases the first HIV/AIDS awareness info leaflet translated into the Kalenjin Language (10% of Kenya, Rift Valley). A Kalenjin man immediately writes in and says, "If only my parents had had this information; today they have AIDS and don't even know what the disease is, there was nothing ever to help them."
» July 2007 Willy Komen, a product of the Shoe4Africa/MK training camp, wins Steeplechase Gold at the All Africa Championships. Shoe4Africa launches its The Kibera Project.
» August 2007 Cornelius Ndiwa (Kenya) from the Shoe4Africa Moses Kiptanui Training Camp wins the African Junior 1500m Champs 3:46.47. Beatrice Kiprop, from the camp, gets the Silver in the same event. Shoe4Africa NYC's women's running team merges with Riadha to form a Super squad.
» October 2007 Shoe4Africa/Riadha win the Boston Mayor's Cup. Hey there Delilah!, the #1 song by Plain White T's was inspired by Delilah DiCrescenzo.
» November 2007 Grete Waitz joins the Shoe4Africa team. On November 5th the group launched its Kibera Project. Standing on the street for seven hours Shoe4Africa collected nearly 10,000 pairs (a number reached by the time they had arrived at the storage unit) of shoes for the Kibera project.
» December 2007 Shoe4Africa begins an allegiance with the United Arab Emirates. Samantha Dobson holds a shoedrive at the Dubai Half Marathon. The RAK Half Marathon, and the Dubai Marathon are planned for 2008. Former Miss World, Linda Petursdottir, joins the Shoe4Africa team. Shoe4Africa is featured on the Montel Williams show. Montel expresses a willingness to follow the cause. Mara Yamauchi joins Shoe4Africa.
» January 2008 Anthony Edwards becomes first Shoe4Africa's first chairman. Mara Yamauchi wins the Osaka Marathon.
» February 2008 Shoe4Africa Dubai collects 6,983 pairs of shoes at the marathon, and the RAK Half Marathon. Athletics Weekly writes article on Shoe4Africa.
» March 2008 Exceptional gathering at Shoe4Africa Peace Run in Iten, Kenya. 42 International stars coming together for peace with 600 schoolkids...
» April 2008 Packing shoes for Kibera, we work at the rate of 5,000 pairs in one day(!) Super model Cameron Alborzian, with his Spanish Supermodel girlfriend, come out and box shoes for Africa.
» May 2008 The Shoe4Africa Martin Lel race is a big success. CNN came to film as Olympic Champion Matthew Birir holds the finishers tape with Martin Lel and Robert Cheruiyot; both of whom are headed for the Beijing Olympics. Other guests include WJR 800m holder Japheth Kimutai, The two-time world champion Moses Tanui, Commonwealth Games champion Daniel Kimaiyo... and of course many other athletes and the entire Lel family!
[watch the "Martin Lel Run" CNN video]
The Shoe4Africa Eldoret run for peace was held at Kenya's largest IDP (refugee) camp where we marched 250 Eldoret school kids in to run with the kids from the camp. Ben Jipcho, former world record holder (a Kalenjin shot in the clashes) and Olympic Champion John Ngugi, from the Kikuyu tribe, were the guests of honor.
[watch video of the IDP Peace race]
Shoe4Africa kicked off the hospital project after meeting with the Minister for health. Athletes Lornah Kiplagat, Moses Tanui, John Ngugi, and Magdalene Chemjor planted a ceremonius tree at the site of the proposed $15-million Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital.
» June 2008 David Willey writes about Shoe4Africa in the Editor's page of Runner's World.
Cristiano Ronaldo joins the Shoe4Africa team.
» July 2008 Rosa Mota joins the Shoe4Africa team. We kick off the campaign to build the largest Children's hospital in Africa on July 25th, Reykjavik Iceland. We need $15-million. By the end of July we have 1%!
» August 2008 Shoe4Africa Children Hospital campaign officially launched in Africa. See Daily Nation. First sizable donation comes from Iceland.
Another Run for Peace race at the Murala Refugee Camp.
[watch the "Murala Run" video]
Diane Dixon, World Champion, Olympic Gold and Silver, Malaak Shabazz (Malcolm X's youngest daughter), and Jackie Joyner-Kersee - otherwise known as the Golden Girl of USA track and Field (3x Olympic Gold) as the Shoe4Africa Angels.
Sammy Wanjiru wins the Olympic gold in the marathon.
In the world juniors, Titus Mbishei, of the Shoe4Africa training camp/Kapcherop won the silver medal.
» September 2008 Shoe4Africa in Rally? Shoe4Africa was last seen earlier this year when Alvaro Parente was winning the GP2 in Barcelona.
7,000 pairs of shoes arrive in Tanzania to be distributed amongst several grass roots organizations. Former world record holder Filbert Bayi inspects one of the boxes.
Steven Spielberg donates $125,000 to the Hospital fund. Anthony Edwards donates his fee, 125,000, for an episode of ER!
» October 2008 The book 'More Fire' is released with the sole intent of raising awareness for Shoe4Africa. 100% of the Author Royalties go directly to Shoe4Africa's hospital campaign.
» December 2008 The Shoe4Africa Kibera 5K Peace run with 5000+ women in Africa's largest slum commemorates a year of peace in Kenya. The largest ever women's only gathering inside Kibera capped off the women playing the All Stars soccer team including 3-time London Marathon Champ Martin Lel, Boston's 4-time winner Robert Cheruiyot, Olympic Champ Matthew Birir, World Champ Douglas Wakiihuri and more... 6400 shoes and 5800 T shirts are given out on the day. Paul Tergat, Lornah Kiplagat, and Isaiah Kiplagat (head of the Athletics Federation) are in attendance. Cristiano Ronaldo donates a signed shirt.
[watch "the Kibera Fun Run" video]
[watch the "Soccer match" video]
An article runs in Kenya on how the program started.
[Read about the whole Kibera Project]
» January 2009 5000 shoes are split between the Kibera Primary School and the Little Rock Orphans school in Kibera. Another 600 shoes are
given out to other sporting groups. Shoe4Africa's mission to give out
over 10,000 pairs (12,000) to the people of Kibera is more than
complete.
The Shoe4Africa Kibera football team is officially formed.
» February 2009 Shoe4Africa partners with C-IN2 to work on the first official Shoe4Africa clothing item; underwear, coming soon to a store near you!
» March 2009 USA Ambassador Michael Ranneberger visited the Kibera Slums to be met by a large group of women all dressed in their yellow Shoe4Africa T shirts
» April 2009 A successful day at the Mama Fatuma's Orphans Home. Shoe4Africa works in the Eastern side of Nairobi, by the Mathare Slums.
[watch "Mama Fatuma's Sports Day" video]
» May 2009 The Second Annual Shoe4Africa Martin Lel run marked the kickoff celebrations of the Martin Lel Secondary School at Kimng'eru. A joint initiative between the village and Shoe4Africa. Lel was on hand as Shoe4Africa's founder Toby was honored as a 'Nandi Elder', an award extremely seldomly bestowed upon a foreigner (The next "Elder" ceremony was for the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, by the Kipsigeis).
[watch "2nd Martin Lel Race" video]
OLYMPIC GOLD 100m - Donovan Bailey joins Shoe4Africa as an Ambassador!
» June 2009 We hold a fund raiser in NYC. Billie Jean King & Ilana Kloss are the guests of honor. Sarah Jones, a Tony winning actress who is amazing, and Morley, the singer you just have to hear, make the evening unforgetable. We announce the next project; Doctor Mark Greene to run the NYC Marathon (The ER show finishes but the Doctor keeps on running is the marketing theme) Would you sponsor Anthony Edwards to run the NYC Marathon? Sarah Jones and Tegla are on the team!
» July 2009 The process to form SHOE4AFRICA as a Kenyan NGO starts. Shoe4Africa's newest board member, Dr. David Feltman and family join Toby for a tour of the hospital site, Kibera, and health centers in Kenya.
» August 2009 The Shoe4Africa Deaf & Disabled run is held in Iten. We have 200 D&D kids running before we hand out mosquito nets instead of finishing medals, and give out new running shoes in a race to raise awareness for Malaria - the #1 killer of kids in Africa. Olympic Champion Matthew Birir talks to the kids on malaria awareness & setting life goals whilst the Deaf School's headmistress does the honors with sign language. We also hold a Malaria Awareness class in Kibera using Kids as the teachers. Read the DAILY NATION report.
[watch the "malaria no more" race]
Revisitng the IDP camp in Eldoret where we held a peace race last May we find refugees still living in squalor, cold, and poverty, so we hold a quick clothes & food drive. On the same day Hillary Clinton is in Kenya commending the government for having successfully closed all the IDP camps! Bizarre - don't believe what you hear!
» September 2009 As we push on with our 500,000 x $10 campaign two more sponsored athletes start school. Judy and Janeth secure a four year sponsorship, at the Martin Lel Secondary School.
>October 2009 Proving the biblical phrase correct, the hand giveth receiveth (eh?) Mark Webber donates 1000-sterling to our cause, then a week later wins the Brazilian F1 Gran Prix. We also get a donation from Rosario Dawson, Michael Stipe, and Ed Norton. Natalie Portman (who also donated) was kind and gracious enough to attend our pasta party at Tony's house.
>November 2009 Shoe4Africa team ran the NYC Marathon to raise funds, a team of about 30 including actor James Legros (3:29:00), Tegla Loroupe (3:54:02), Actress Sarah Jones (3:54:02), Toby Tanser (3:54:02), and Actor Anthony Edwards (4:08:47). Click to see the full team. Said Tegla, two time champion and former world record holder, on the finishing line; "It was really hard. I didn’t feel tired but my legs were hurting. It means something special because I always run for myself. This time I think of how many children I am saving. It means something. Even the other runners said thank you for running".
In our second fund raiser of the month (rare!) Omega/Tourbillon Shoe4Africa Poker Night, down on Wall St raised just over $10,000! Thanks so much. The winner of the night was Catherine Gonzalez beating, amongst others, Poker pro Harry Winston!!
>December 2009 At the Shoe4Africa Women's 5k the event was centered around promoting AIDS Awareness. World Champions Janet Jepkosgei and Mary Keitany (whose senior career begun with a shoe4africa race!), World record holder Daniel Komen, and Olympic Champion Matthew Birir were on hand to give health speeches supporting a team from the local hospital who offered testing, drugs, and counselling (all free).
Partnering with the Foundation for Small Voices (whose board member Stacey Kelly sits on the S4A board) Toby Tanser and FS Voices delivered food packages of Flour, Sugar, Fats, and tea leaves to 2500 kids in Five different centers around the Baringo/Pokwot area of Kenya where starving children had ben eating rats. A 100% crop failure meant that luxuries, such as sugar, and chapatis, tea etc, had not been tasted all year long!
>>JANUARY 2010 What a way to start the new year; "Shoe4Africa has become a powerful agent for change." Kenyan National Television Station. thank you so much! Wendy Ng helps us to financially support our first medical student sponsoring maybe the first Doctor who will work in our hospital, a Turkana man needing school fees at Kisumu Medical College - welcome William Ewai
>>FEBRUARY 2010 It is Official Double World Champion, Olympic Silver, winner of the London, Tokyo and the New York City Marathon, the great Liz McColgan is running for SHOE4AFRICA's marathon team 2010
>>MARCH 2010 We announce we are going to build a Primary School this Summer in Kenya!! A promise that was made in 2007 to a community is going to happen as we raech the funding goal.
GERMAN SILVA - a New York City Marathon legend aanouces he is going to run with Shoe4Africa Marathon team 2010
Alex Vero's documentary, Running to the limits' donates $2 per DVD to Shoe4Africa
>>APRIL 2010 We start building the SHOE4AFRICA Martin Lel primary school, Nandi district Kenya! African comics donates 30-cents on every comic book sold in Kenya.
>>MAY 2010 Top NYC designer THUY launches her Shoe4Africa RUNNING TO RUNWAY program giving us sales of Designer shoes, percentages and more -- thanks THUY
>>JUNE 2010 we hit $700,000 with no staff, barely a business plan, and whilst maintaining all our other projects -- two years ago? ZERO! World Middle Weight Former #1 contender Michael Olajide releases a fitness DVD with Shoe4Africa featured!
>> JULY 2010 We launch the Sea to the Stars at Rodney Cutler's "Cutler Salon" -- a great party, and the night before the Sea to the Stars team (Dean Holcombe, Mike MArtinez, Rodney, myself, and Azali Kassum meet at Rodney's house in the sticks and run 21-miles back into NYC to get the project rolling!