Caring lecturer walking 100 miles barefoot for poverty-stricken families

A New City College lecturer has been so shocked by the poverty he has witnessed in East London, that he is walking 100 miles barefoot to raise money for a food bank charity.

Mentesnot Mengesha, who trains adult students to become teachers at NCC’s Hackney campus, is a former refugee himself, who fled from war-torn Ethiopia 30 years ago.

He decided he had to do something to help struggling families when on his way home from work he saw a schoolboy walking with his dad in shoes so worn and old that he could see his toes through them.

Mentesnot said: “The young boy had come straight from school, in his uniform, and his shoes were completely worn out. I could see his toes. My heart was broken but I couldn’t do anything. I could have spared his father £20, but that’s no solution at all and I wanted him to keep his dignity.”

The issue played on his mind and he started to make enquiries as to how he could help raise awareness and funds to help families in need – especially those affected by the Covid pandemic.

He was introduced to the Bonny Downs Community Association, a charity which is based in East Ham and is a lifeline for many struggling families, running food banks, providing clothes and holding after-school clubs.

Pictured above: Mentesnot is joined by members of the community for the first couple of miles of his Barefoot Challenge walk.                  Photo by Sylvie Belbouab

The Association was formed by members of the Bonny Downs Baptist Church, who started by renovating a local community centre which had stood empty for years. The Association then took responsibility for the disused Flanders Fields which, over 125 years ago, were where children from poorer families were seen playing with no shoes on their feet.

Mentesnot said: “When I heard the history of the area and how Bonny Downs was started, it gave me the idea to walk barefoot to raise money. I made a pledge to myself – this is my commitment and over the course of the summer, I will walk 100 miles!”

He began his challenge on June 12^th by walking barefoot around Flanders Fields and was joined for the first couple of miles by almost 100 members of the community – the oldest being 86, and the youngest a one-year-old baby.

He said: “It was inspiring and was really good fun. I was impressed with the turnout. There were disabled people, elderly people, children – everyone was committed to this. I have many more miles to walk, but I will definitely achieve it by the time the summer is over.”

Mentesnot has already raised £1,340, and the community challenge overall has raised more than £4,000 – all of which will go to the Bonny Downs food bank and to their projects supporting low-income families.

Pictured above: Members of the Bonny Downs Church fundraising at the launch of the Barefoot Challenge.                     Photo by Bonny Downs Community Association

The Chairman of Bonny Downs, David Mann, said: “Mentesnot has done a wonderful thing – he has brought so many people together for this one cause, to celebrate our humanity and diversity, and all the positives that there are in our borough.”

Mentesnot sought political asylum in the UK after being imprisoned in Ethiopia for ‘political activism’ at school. After arriving in London and settling in Newham more than 30 years ago, he built a successful life for himself, studying for four degrees and developing a career by working in local authorities, the NHS and then as a teacher.

He says he first recognised there was a poverty problem in the area from research he conducted for his MPhil (Master of Philosophy degree).

He said: “My study was about development in Newham. You can see the infrastructure, the building work – particularly in Stratford and the Olympic Park – it is really encouraging. It’s fantastic, good investment coming to Newham.

“But at the same time, the disparity between the rich and the poor is completely unacceptable. There are 39,000 children in poverty in this borough. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is very wide.”

He said research shows that unemployment and out-of-work benefits claimant rates by local people are not much higher than London averages, which suggests that Newham’s issues relate to in-work poverty.

If you would like to help Mentesnot’s cause, you can donate to the Barefoot Challenge here:

https://localgiving.org/fundraising/my-barefoot-challenge-supporting-families-in-need/