Ponte Vedra Soles4Souls

A brand new partner for Now and Tomorrow, Ponte Vedra Soles4Souls is the vision of Mary Slowik. A talented artist and local PVHS student, Mary decided to use her considerable artistic talent to offer custom painted shoes to anyone interested in supporting her initiative. For $10 per hour, Mary will create a unique pair of shoes to your specifications on any shoes you provide to her. All proceeds from her work will be used to buy shoes and other clothing for refugee children in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Southwest Uganda who are beginning their school journey through the Soma Soma school readiness program.  Mary hopes to interest other students in joining her in this effort and plans to create a club at PVHS for any interested student.

For more examples of her work go to  Instagram   @pvsoles4souls  

 The Soma Soma program began as way to bring literacy and art instruction to the children in the communities that were not able to attend school. It was originally called Kusoma na Sanaa or Reading and Art in Swahili. It has evolved into a structured, non-formal education initiative based on successful work done in Lebanon with Syrian Refugees by the Norwegian Refugee Council. By involving community leaders, parents, government schools and local instructors, the program is designed to explore what it takes to get children "school ready" so they can enter the mainstream education process. This innovative 6 month program seeks to explore the most effective ways to get children "school ready" and understand what support systems will be required within the household as well as the communities and schools to assure successful transition for the child.