Sia Godika was 13 when she noticed the barefoot children of construction workers at a building site near her house in Bangalore, India. "Their feet were bare, dirty, cracked and bleeding," reflects Sia, "They were just walking around that building site like it was an everyday practice for them." And it was in that moment that Sia realized how lucky she herself was.
She went back home and opened her closet doors, seeing shoes piled up high. She headed to her mother's closet next, literally dusting off spiderwebs from some shoes. Then she rushed to give them all away to the barefoot children.
Later that year, with the help of her parents, Sia founded Sole Warriors, a charity organization devoted to providing footwear for those in need, as is clearly shown by its motto: "Donate a sole (鞋底), save a soul." Telephone calls from people who wanted to help came flooding in. For months, Sia stayed up till 2 a. m, contacting people and dealing with related affairs. Now in its fifth year, the organization collects used footwear, repairs it and donates the finished products to people in need. In its first campaign, Sole Warriors gave out 700 pairs of shoes. Today that number stands at around 28, 000, thanks to the hard work of a team of about80 volunteers.
But the oragnisation's growth wasn't without its challenges. When Sia was trying to find a company which was willing to repair and clean up the worn-out shoes free of charge, she faced one difficulty after another before finding a partner in India's Pressto Cobbler. "Being a13-year-old, I did face a lot of bias(偏见) because at my age, people were less willing to hear me out," says Sia.
In recognition of her impact, in 2021 Sia was given the Diana Award, one of the greatest honours a young person can receive for social work. But her work isn't done. "Our goal has always been to touch a million feet," she says.
