Going Barefoot—One for One

How would you feel if you had no shoes to wear? In Tai­pei City’s bustling ­Xinyi District on April 25th 2015, several hundred people walked barefoot from the World Trade Center MRT station to ­Xiangti Boulevard Plaza. They were taking part in the “One Day Without Shoes” event organized by Mimi Chen in the hope that the public would become more aware of people who are so poor that they have no shoes.

The “One Day Without Shoes” campaign is held in more than 50 countries around the world each April, to make people aware of the reality of having to live without shoes. When the event first took place in Taiwan in 2013, Chen’s social enterprise BR Link launched its market concept of one for one—when you purchase a pair of shoes, the enterprise will donate a pair of new shoes to children in need. The name BR Link refers to the “link” between buyer and recipient.

Chen says that more than 300 million children worldwide have no shoes, and each year more than a million children die from diseases or infection due to going barefoot. On her missions abroad, Chen has visited a number of countries including India, Thailand, Cambodia, and Nepal, where she has witnessed huge numbers of poor children who can’t even dream of owning a new pair of shoes. “This isn’t just barefoot amusement. The few hundred meters that we manage to walk is way less than the distance barefoot children in northern Thailand have to walk every day!” The campaign aims not only at to have people experience what it’s like to walk in bare feet, but also to link those who need help with the ones who can provide it.  

Now aged 36, since graduating from university Chen has worked full time for a religious organization, where she is mainly responsible for children’s education within the church. On her annual overseas missions, she has the opportunity to take children from Taiwan to visit young people in other countries who are less fortunate than themselves. Seeing these children from different backgrounds together often made a big impact on her. “The strongest impressions were when I saw children living in poverty in India, and in a drug rehabilitation center in northern Thailand. I desperately wanted to do more for them,” says Chen.

Her most striking memory is from one of her missions to India. A ten-year-old boy from a rather wealthy Taiwanese family was not a happy young man despite his material security. He was shocked when confronted with the unfamiliar environment and poor living conditions in India, frequently asking Chen: “Why should I have to come here to see this?”

One day in one of India’s poorer areas as the children from Taiwan were preparing their gifts for the locals, this ten-year-old boy lost his temper. His mother had packed one of his favorite toys as she thought that he would probably never play with it again, but he simply failed to understand the meaning of sharing.

However, towards the end of the visit, the boy ran to Chen and told her happily that a local boy had asked for his candy wrappers when he finished eating his candy. Who would have thought that because of a candy wrapper, the children would end up happily playing together? The boy was surprised with the local children’s reaction, and was pleased to be able to give something to others in need. “After feeling the joy that comes with giving, something good was slowly germinating in his heart. He came to me and asked whether he could give whatever he liked to the local children. I told him he could give them anything but his underwear, so he wouldn’t have to go home naked!” Chen tries to use humor to educate the children and to get on their wavelength.

Chen notes that after seeing the poor living conditions of foreign children, people in Taiwan should be content with their lot, but in fact perhaps both sides have something to gain. With his experience of giving, the little boy learned contentment and gratitude, and his attitude changed completely. He began to integrate into the group and became willing to serve others. But Chen also began to think about how to bring together people with different needs. If there were an organization that could link people together to help each other, she would very much like to be a part of it.

Chen remembered a speech delivered by TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie when he visited Taiwan. Mycoskie established his brand based on a concept of “one for one”—you purchase a pair of shoes, and I will in turn donate a pair of shoes to children in need. Chen loved the concept, and hoped Taiwan could be a starting point to fulfill this idea, allowing consumers to show their kindness by helping children in need in ­every corner of the world.

At the beginning of BR Link’s business, Chen contacted public schools in poor areas of the countries that she visited during her missions, along with international NGOs, expressing her willingness to pass on the compassion of Taiwan’s people to help impoverished local students. The idea received an immediate enthusiastic response.

BR Link donates new shoes, not second hand, so they need to know the recipient’s name and shoe size to ensure that their donations are not wasted. The company regularly publishes the names on its website. In only two years, BR Link has donated over a thousand pairs of new shoes to children in Nepal and a number of rural schools in Taiwan. “Through such a link, you [the consumers] have improved the quality of their [the recipients’] lives. And it works both ways: they have also enriched your lives,” says Chen. So many people feel needed and their lives become richer.

Chen suffered many setbacks in establishing the business. With her unusual courage and the power of faith, she confronted and overcame many difficulties. “The first problem was that I couldn’t find a shoe factory that was willing to manufacture shoes for BR Link,” says Chen.

Chen thought that since her enterprise was going to do something meaningful, it should use and support Taiwanese businesses, so she hoped that all the shoes either sold or donated should be manufactured in Taiwan. With no background in the footwear industry, she could only begin with basic research on Google, but she still couldn’t find a suitable manufacturer. As a result, it took the company almost a year to produce its first pair of shoes.

Chen went through all the emotions but she had to move on. She gradually overcame the difficulties, but these were nothing compared to the lack of sales.

To persuade a shoe factory to open a production line for BR Link, Chen pledged all her capital. But when they received no orders, the company was under enormous pressure. “I cried and cried, looking at my stock of over 2000 pairs of shoes,” says Chen. In the beginning she had partners, but eventually due to financial pressures she was left alone to run the company—though her former partners would stay on as BR Link volunteers.

When BR Link’s first batch of shoes was delivered to a rural elementary school in Nepal, one of the little boys told her that this was his first pair of new shoes ever. His appreciation and happiness shone on his face; every time Chen recalls the scene, her eyes become swollen with tears. “He only had a pair of flip flops. BR Link’s volunteer saw him holding the shoes still packed in plastic: he seemed unwilling to open the package. There was some concern that the little boy might just want to keep the shoes without wearing them, so the volunteer promised him that as long as he needed shoes, he would get them,” says Chen. Finally the little boy put on his new shoes. But according to local volunteers, he’s still reluctant to wear them when it rains.

Perhaps due to the positive things they have achieved, after one year’s operation online, the successful owner of a design company visited BR Link and expressed his willingness to give something back to society. Because the owner liked BR Link’s philosophy, he offered to help develop a new brand image for the company, and even assisted in the design of shoes. “After I explained my ideal to him, the owner immediately said: ‘You’re for me.’ I really feel that good things come to you if you are really doing good things in Taiwan society.”

With the help of the design firm, the current shoe manufacturer New Buffalo became willing to reduce their production prices. “With this gesture, our fortunes took a rise. I really believe that the majority of people in Taiwan are looking for ways to become better people.”

In addition to reporting details of the recipients, Chen is looking forward to involving consumers more in the operation overseas when the enterprise is on a more stable footing. “Our aim is to achieve two goals with each step—a pair of shoes can help two individuals. My wish is for the company’s founding philosophy to spread throughout society. Anyone is welcome to contribute. There is no limit to the range of products that can be donated. As long as we apply the BR Link philosophy, ‘one for one,’ we will able to help many people.”

The children’s smiles when they receive their new shoes, and the joy of helping them put them on, are the forces propelling Chen in her endeavors. She is proud that the people of Taiwan have risen to the challenge with passion and enthusiasm. Her social enterprise relies on the assistance of many. “Like the lines in The Alchemist, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

The concept of donating shoes to those in need has received a great deal of support. Social enterprise BR Link organized an event around the “One Day Without Shoes” campaign, whose “one for one” program has enhanced many lives.

In 2012, BR Link donated its first batch of shoes to Nepal. Pictured here, a volunteer helps a child try on her new shoes.

In 2010 during her mission to India, Mimi Chen saw many children who were forced to give up school because they had no shoes to wear. This inspired her to create a business that would donate footwear to those in need.

More than 300 million children worldwide have no shoes, and each year more than a million children die from infection or disease due to going barefoot. A pair of shoes can change a child’s life.

Mimi Chen (center) established BR Link, and insists that all BR Link shoes must be made in Taiwan. She hopes to provide comfortable footwear for all children in need.

Ordinary people walk barefoot through Taipei’s bustling city streets, providing a voice for those with no shoes to wear. They hope to arouse people’s passion for helping those in need.

Taiwan’s positive side is reflected in the “barefoot effect.” Mimi Chen set up a link between consumers and those in need, bringing to light the kind hearts of the people of Taiwan.