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where do the old shoes go (Read 720 times)

    Developing nations *do* have a need for these shoes, though, and often cannot accept *new* shoes b/c it is too much of a risk for the agency/nonprofit to have such "valuable" items on hand. (We did not know this until talking with our friends in Rwanda. You don't want to know the stories they told us.)
    While I am sure it is no where close to anything happening in Rwanda (is there anything that could compare?), homeless agencies actually have a similar problem with blankets. Most take new blankets out of the wrappers they come in because they either get stollen or they are so valuable that they get traded - often for more than they cost, though my guess is the person who sold the blanket comes to regret it pretty soon. I have helped on a soup-truck several times in DC and I am always shocked at how many men appear just few feet from the embassies, classy restaurants, fancy law-firms, etc. Just goes to show that while we may have to go around the world to find someone who wants all of our shoes, you dont have to go very far to find third-world conditions.
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