She’s got soles, but she’s not a soldier

Volunteering takes time and dedication, but GCSU alumna Sara Costello has taken volunteering a step further than traditional community service. She has given her time and energy to creating Soles for Soles, a mission to provide aid to special needs children in Cusco, Peru.

Costello graduated from GCSU in December with a bachelor’s degree in community health and is currently in graduate school studying special education at the University of Georgia.

The name Soles for Soles comes from the Peruvian currency, the sol, and Costello’s original goal – providing shoes for children.

From September to November, Costello volunteered in a special needs school in impoverished Cusco. She worked in a class with mostly autistic children, one of whom was the inspiration for Soles for Soles.

“I worked with one girl named Vivian who was nonverbal, violent – just extremely autistic. One day, I was putting her shoes on because she kicked them off, and they wouldn’t fit. When I finally got them on, her toes were curled up in the ends of them, and it just broke my heart,” Costello said.

The shoes were three sizes too small, so Costello went and bought new shoes for Vivian costing $12.

“I put them on her the next day, and she was so much calmer and peaceful,” Costello said. “She had no way to communicate the pain her shoes caused and no one thought she had a reason for being violent before.”

For autistic children, pain affects them more than most people understand.

“Children with autism in many cases sense things differently than we do, and sensory over-stimulation can become quite a problem,” said John Harmon, a senior special education major at GCSU. “Providing them with appropriate materials is highly important for their functionality.”

Teachers told Costello about students whose families could not afford shoes. She told her mother and her friend at home, and the three began to network and raise donations.

Soles for Soles expanded after a boy in Costello’s class arrived at school with badly burnt feet from a punishment. He had no socks and his feet were getting infected from his shoes, so Costello gave him her socks and bought more that day.

She raised enough money for 72 pairs of shoes, as well as socks, underwear, and jackets. Hand-delivering everything was a rewarding experience for her – children screamed and cried with excitement, and grateful mothers came to her in tears.

“Some kids even brought me fruit or bread, which was a huge gesture on their part,” Costello said.

Costello formed new goals after returning home in late November. Because of expensive shipping costs, Costello raises money, and the teacher she worked with in Peru, Marianela Tueros, buys what the children need.

“I trust Marianela whole-heartedly. She’s a huge advocate for the kids and put a lot of her own money into the project,” Costello said.

Costello is currently raising money to pay for a doctor’s appointment and six months of ADHD medication for Manuel, a boy in the class she worked with. He has severe ADHD – also known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – but his family cannot afford proper medication. He currently takes over-the-counter tranquilizing medicine for schizophrenic adults.

“This kid is really bright. He could be in a regular classroom if he had the right medication,” Costello said.

Another goal is to provide relief for recent flooding in Cusco, which has directly affected over 60,000 people. Many houses in Cusco are adobe, but Costello will not know how the flooding affected the children until their summer vacation ends in March.

Costello promotes Soles for Soles through her blog, SolesForSoles.BlogSpot.com, and through the project’s Facebook page. She also fundraises by selling T-shirts and coffee cups and organizing benefit concerts. The next concert is scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m. at Blackbird Coffee. Admission is $3.

As a Delta Zeta alumna, Costello has spoken to several of GCSU’s sororities.

“She’s really passionate about Soles for Soles, so we’ve all been really passionate about it with her,” said Madeline Balmes, Delta Zeta president. “It was just really neat to see everything she’s doing and everything it’s going towards.”

Costello said her time in Cusco truly opened her eyes to the world’s needs.

“As Americans, it’s a blessing and a curse that we’re so privileged. We don’t have to see the hurt of the world, but we desperately need the exposure to it in order to understand our richness. To be exposed to the tragedy the rest of the world knows can be rather horrifying, but it’s also the best thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

Posted by Courtney Kelly on Feb 12 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry