Ssekos: These shoes are made for changing the world...

If you were reading my blog around Christmas last year, then you know that I love giving/receiving gifts and making purchases that help someone in need. Fair-trade items, items made by artisans living in poverty-stricken counties, or by ex-prostitutes coming out of the sex trade, or by widows who are being taught a trade to provide for themselves and their children. Those kinds of purchases just bless my day and I love when these items (usually clothing or accessories of some kind) act as a springboard for conversations with others about caring for the poor.

courtesy of the Sseko website

I recently heard about Sseko shoes and desperately wanted a pair of my own. A cute pair of shoes that I could style in endless ways and that helped some young ladies in Uganda - yes please! I happened to have some "just for fun" money that Devin had given me to spend on myself, just for fun (that's hard for the practical, frugal, giving side of me to do sometimes) and the Sseko purchase allowed me to spoil myself with something fun and help someone in need: ha! win/win (and a little bit sneaky).

courtesy of the Sseko website

My favorite thing about Sseko as an organization (besides that they are in Uganda) is that they hire recent high school graduates to make the shoes, not in order to learn the trade of a shoemaker, but so these young ladies can save money to go to college and become the next generation of doctors, teachers and leaders in their country. During a nine month paid internship program, Sseko automatically puts 50% of the girls' fair-wage salaries into a college fund and whatever the girls save for college out of their remaining 50%, Sseko matches at the end of the nine months. It is an awesome program that encourages these young women with so few opportunities to pursue a positive future.

When my Ssekos arrived, I immediately started trying out some of the different styling options (not an easy feat while heavily pregnant, I'll tell you that!) The possibilities seem truly endless, but I've only tried four different ties so far. Here's how I wore my Ssekos the first few weeks:

I varied this one a little because my foot wouldn't stay in them when tied like the photo.

The shoes are really well made and I think that when I can easily reach my toes again, I'll enjoy styling them a bit more. I also got an additional pair of red straps so I can really change up the look of the shoes when I feel like it. Some of the styles I tried were more comfortable or stayed on my feet better than others (I also think I got a size too big, which might be part of the problem), but over-all they seem like a good product with a great purpose! So go ahead, put a pair of Ssekos on your Birthday/Christmas/Just For Fun List!