Manny Ohonme joined me to discuss his journey from Nigeria to North Carolina, with a stop in North Dakota where he played hoops and maximized the value of his college scholarship.

In 2003, after re-visiting the extreme poverty in his homeland, Manny set out on a mission to provide “shoes as the foundation to a spiritual and healthy life resulting in the advancement of education and economic opportunities.” Samaritan’s Feet and its partners have distributed over 7.5 million pairs of shoes in 108 countries and over 420 U.S. cities.

We talked about conflict, history, Nigeria, peaceful protest, corporate sponsors and fundraising. Manny shared some sobering stats about shoeless children and described how easy it is for you to help.

Husaya Hama (pictured) joined me for the second hour. I met Husaya on a hiking trail and invited him on the show to discuss his journey from Sudan to Utah (through Washington State). Husaya talked about the struggle to find his identity after his family won a lottery in 1999 allowing them to escape war violence and enter the U.S. - American culture. He tells a story about getting his shoes stepped on and noting that his response (indifference) didn’t sit well with his new “friends” who expected him to feel, and act, more disrespected if he expected to “fit in.” (confusing, right?)  After running with the wrong crowd for a bit, Husaya's back on the right path and is fortunate to call Utah home. He’s a newlywed (9/10/20) and is working on building his family’s future.

Visit Samaritansfeet.org to help.