Friday's Footnotes

A Child's Shoe in Kazakhstan Store

The First Glance

At first glance, we simply see a girl's red shoe for sale in a store in Kazakhstan.
The cost for this pair of shoes is 1800 Tenge, about $15.26 at the current exchange rate of 118 Tenge per USD.

The Irony of This Photo

On a deeper level, this photo makes me so sad, due to the irony of it. This photo was taken by the sweetest little girl, an orphan named Vika, on an outing to buy shoes. The first thing that comes to mind when I see these shoes is the "ruby slippers" in the movie The Wizard of Oz and the phrase "There's no place like home!" In the movie, all Dorothy has to do is to click her heels together three times when she is wearing the ruby slippers and say the magic phrase, "There's no place like home...There's no place like home...." and she is transported to that special place called "home" where she is surrounded by "family", those who love and care for her. If that were only possible for the many children in the many orphanages in Kazakhstan and the rest of the world!

Is "The Wizard of Oz" a familiar story in Kazakhstan? Is that what Vika was thinking of when she saw this shoe, and is it why she took the photo? Was she dreaming of special shoes and being transported to a place called "home"? I don't know, but I have to wonder....

...and with the absence of "family" in their lives...I am thankful for the sponsors who help these children to know that they are special...and that someone does love and care about them! Thank you sponors for making a difference!