We are very pleased to have Veldskoen Shoes "step up" and become our Isihlangu Esitsha (New Shoe) Sponsor this year.
Shoes are one of the important and frequently missing parts of the required uniforms in South Africa. Veldskoen Shoes is generously helping to fill this void by being our "Isihlangu Esitsha (New Shoe) Sponsor" to provide school shoes to Education without Borders learners in South Africa.
Veldskoen is a shoe brand originating in South Africa and gaining global momentum. Pronounced “felt-skoon”, The history of these shoes is as rich and diverse as the country they come from.
The word "Veldskoen", was first documented by the Dutch settlers who arrived in southern Africa almost 400 years ago. It means "field shoes."
However, according to Khoisan tribal folklore, there were leather shoes, cut from a single hide, being made and worn by the tribe, as far back as a 1000 years before that.
According to GQ magazine, Nathan Clark, of Clarks Shoes, was serving in the second world war when he noticed South African officers wearing, in his own words, “strange leather shoes”. On further investigation, he found they were being made in a Bazaar in Cairo, commissioned by the South African officers, after their military boots had failed them. The design was sent to London, where the Chukka boot craze was born.
Veldskoen credits them with having a hand, and a foot, in the Veldskoen story! Veldskoen has joined the journey of, arguably, the world’s oldest shoe, a little more recently.
Veldskoen shoes are available online at www.veldskoenshoes.ca, and Veldskoen Canada is a proud and committed supporter of SAFF and Education without Borders.
