Yaiza’s New TOMS Shoes

Name: Yaiza
Age: 7
Location: Santiago de Maria, El Salvador
Giving Partner: AmeriCares

On a cobblestone street in a small cement home, 7-year-old Yaiza lives with her four sisters and mother. Every morning, after she helps straighten up the house, she and her older sisters get ready and enjoy a chatty walk to school together. Her mother describes her as a determined young girl, who loves to smile. At school, Yaiza loves to jump rope and really enjoys her math lessons. When she grows up, she would like to work in a bank — “I really like numbers,” she said.

Yaiza recently received a new pair of TOMS Shoes at her school through Giving Partner AmeriCares and its Family Clinic.. A Giving Partner in El Salvador since 2010, AmeriCares operates a comprehensive health clinic that provides treatment, rehabilitation and preventative education to community members throughout Santiago de Maria. It is through the educational component that Yaiza and her siblings have received new TOMS Shoes.

“Yaiza’s family is very active in our clinic, participating in many programs,” Jonatan, an AmeriCares staff member, said. “She has received TOMS Shoes, and her family has received hygiene kits alongside quality health care.”

After Yaiza received her TOMS at school, she said she was eager to return to playing with her friends and continuing her work at school.

“These shoes are fun to walk and play in,” she said excitedly. “I always wear them when I play in the park or play jump rope when my friends come over.”

Read more about how AmeriCares and TOMS work together to distribute new shoes to children in schools here.