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Students from the eight Catholic elementary schools in the Northeast Deanery of the Archdiocese of St. Louis partnered with Vitendo4Africa and collected nearly 600 pairs of shoes this month. The shoes will be delivered to children in Kenya during a medical mission trip planned by Vitendo4Africa this summer.

St. Norbert fourth-grade student Dennis Muigai visited Kenya last summer on a Mission trip where he had the opportunity to meet some new friends at a school and orphanage.  Many of these children had no shoes to wear.  Through the Federation of Catholic Schools, Muigai asked his fellow Catholic school students in North St. Louis County to join him on this service project by collecting shoes, which he plans to deliver to Kenya when he visits again during a Medical Mission planned for this summer. When he returns home he will share pictures and videos of the children receiving these gifts.

Collection boxes were placed at each of the eight Federation elementary schools, which include Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Christ Light of the Nations, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Sacred Heart, St. Angela Merici, St. Ferdinand, St. Norbert and St. Rose Philippine Duchesne.

Geoffrey Soyiantet, founder of the Vitendo4Africa Foundation (www.Vitendo4Africa.org), along with his team, picked up the donations from each school and packaged 598 pairs of shoes in boxes for shipping to Kenya.  Since the shipment will take two months to arrive in Africa, the mission team will also carry some of the shoes with them as they travel to deliver as soon as they arrive in Kenya.

“Service to others is central to our mission of Catholic education. We are grateful for this opportunity to partner with Vitendo4Africa and help them in this small way on their Medical Mission as they serve the children and families of Kenya,” said Cara Koen, director of Advancement for the Federation of Catholic Schools

The Federation of Catholic Schools is a formal agreement between the pastors of the eleven parishes in the Northeast Deanery of the Archdiocese of St. Louis to work together in support of the mission of Catholic education in the North County community.  To learn more about the programs and goals of the Federation, please visit www.FederationofCatholicSchools.org