Ky. man going barefoot for charity in icy winter

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140221/DAC3HGNG2.html

Feb 21, 4:12 AM (ET)
BY DYLAN LOVAN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Walking a mile in Richard Hudgins shoes can be a painful experience in one of the harshest Southern winters in years.

That's because he's not wearing any.

Hudgins, a hair stylist, has stripped off his shoes and socks and is going barefoot for a full year to raise money for shoeless children a world away.

He has gone barefoot to work, to drop his daughter off at school, to shop and even to exercise at the gym. Shoeless since early December, he has nearly made it through a brutal Kentucky winter that featured several days of snow, ice and single-digit temperatures.

-----

Hudgins wants to raise $25,000 in donations by year's end and then take the money to Narok, Kenya, where children need uniforms and shoes to go to school. So far he has raised nearly $4,000.

If Hudgins reaches his goal, it would buy durable shoes for more than 800 kids, said Elijah Ombati, a missionary from Kenya who has struck up a friendship with Hudgins. Ombati, who runs a Christian group called Nasha Ministries International and splits his time between Africa and Louisville, said many of the needy children are orphans and don't have $20 or $30 for shoes. Ombati said shoes are necessary at schools for good hygiene and to protect the feet of children who walk far distances.

-----