This was the beginning. The seed that got planted that grew into Motiv.
A problem was identified, an unacceptable mortality rate in children.
A cause was determined, poor foot care due to a lack of proper footwear and an absence of knowledge about foot hygiene.
MOTIV was founded when our cofounders discovered a 5-year-old boy named Johnathan. Here is his story.
Johnathan’s mother had died during childbirth and his father was a raging alcoholic. Johnathan essentially raised himself and learned what he could from other kids his size when he could get near enough to observe them. He lived in a little mud huddle on the outskirts of the village. He raised guinea pigs for their warmth, their companionship, and for his meals. We could see that he walked strangely, and he apparently did not speak well. What we could not understand though, is why his village, his tribe, did not step in to assist. The village President finally filled in the missing pieces of the puzzle.
This village and others like it lose about 5% of their young kids each year to conditions related to exposure, primarily through their feet. Their feet have crusty blackened skin, and they suffer from foot development problems because those who don’t die of things like pneumonia are likely to have some level of deformity from the feet repeatedly freezing and thawing. They can typically find or make warm garments, but not footwear.
We studied possible solutions and found that for roughly $2500 annually, we could get 100 kids a pair of rugged athletic sole hiking boots which were light enough for the summer but warm enough for the winter, seven pairs of socks, and two visits per year by medical foot care specialists. We could not turn away and found that we were going to have to do it ourselves with the help of donors. Thus began the Life Saving Steps program, and Motiv.
We now have 2000 kids in the Life Saving Steps program and our goal is to add another 1000 annually.
The journey that Johnathan took us on defined our mission.
“…for roughly $2500 annually, we could get 100 kids a pair of rugged athletic sole hiking boots which were light enough for the summer but warm enough for the winter, seven pairs of socks, and two visits per year by medical foot care specialists.”
At Motiv Taking Action is what we do.
