Oyella Odong Of GO BARE – Making Sure No Child Goes Barefoot Again

Certain things are so obvious to us that its necessity has become expected, thus making it near impossible to imagine it being unique or something to value. If I asked you what three things you absolutely could not live without, I’m certain that none of you would include protective footwear. But just like breathing – we also cannot live without shoes. It is then difficult to acknowledge the very brutal reality, which is that in many developing countries people are forced to walk for miles day-on-end without shoes or at best, extremely poor iterations of the shoe you and I take for granted.

Oyella Odong, an Uganda-born, London-based entrepreneur, is on a mission to ensure that no child ever walks barefoot again. Established in 2019, Go Bare is a non-profit with the core mission to provide shoes to children in third-world countries particularly Uganda. Through Go Bare, Oyella raises awareness and funds to support the organization’s commitment to empowering people by providing them with the necessary tools to support their education.

APRIL: Can you tell us more about yourself?
OYELLA: My name is Oyella Odong; I was born during the Ugandan Civil war. During that time, my family; mother, and two brothers lived a rather simple life. This consisted of living in a mud hut, supporting my mother with chores, and even walking to fetch water – which I enjoyed doing. My father moved to the UK when I was three months old and got a job as an accountant. (He was fortunate having gone to boarding school where received a great education) We joined my father in the UK when I was six years old.

APRIL: What was your experience moving to the UK?
OYELLA: Moving to the UK was a true culture shock. Standing in the airport was the first time I felt injustice – without even understanding the meaning of the word. “Why were other people living differently to us, why was the airport so busy and yet beyond all this manic – calmness filled the air?” There were so many questions and what also stuck with me, was the feeling that I had to remember my roots. Because of the glamourous way people were living in the UK, I promised myself to always stay true to my roots, and never get caught up in their way of living.
My father taught me and my siblings English before we attended a full-time education. Luckily, I spoke 5 languages and picking up English was relatively easy. Attending school, I remember how my identity was questioned because of how the media portrayed my home country. People would tell me that they had seen something on television, depicting Uganda as poor; starving children – all very skinny and needing help. Though, some of these facts were true, it upset me how the media were showing individuals at their most vulnerable state and I…. as a seven-year-old, had to educate my fellow peers including some teachers of my truth. Instead of being a student, I felt in some cases that I was the teacher. It was something I felt needed to be done and I was happy to do it, though it was hard at times.

APRIL: What inspired you to create Go Bare, and what drives you?

OYELLA: I had the idea of creating Go Bare in my final year at University whilst studying Writing Fashion & Culture. I had been working 25 hours throughout my degree, as well as undertaking an internship. Sitting in the library – extremely exhausted, slightly frustrated, and feeling lost, my thoughts started forming in my mind. Firstly, something my lecturer had said came to mind which was, “Make yourself understood; get society to see how you see it”. Following from this another thought started to flow, “How are you going to make yourself understood, what will your dissertation be about?… Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, born with a silver spoon” and the last words from my cousin “You will move to England, Oyella, and forget about us; you will forget about this life”. Go Bare was formed from all these thoughts as well as looking at English phrases in a literal sense – “even if you didn’t own shoes and weren’t born with a silver spoon… we were still all being fed by the same loving hands”.

My dissertation was the start of Go Bare, the logo was created by a friend, Abbie Freeman, and I organized a barefooted march through London. This was done to recognize those who cannot afford shoes that must walk barefooted and or without suitable footwear. It was also reclaiming my roots and depicting the ideology of remaining grounded.

Go Bare is also very flowy concept; Go Barefooted, experience how it feels to walk Go Bare – be vulnerable, have the courage to be seen/heard, be proud of your identity, be authentically you, be centred, be intentional and help you to be grateful – as well as learn from the individuals that we are supporting too. No matter our status or lack of, we can all learn from one another.

APRIL: How have you been able to promote the mission?
OYELLA: We promote our missions and currently focusing on Uganda by supporting pupils, through education and workshops targeting bullying and other social elements. We also speak directly with inspirational women in our Instagram Live interviews “Going Bare with”. Through this, we highlight our campaign called “Ella’s shoes”, which is a mentorship program for adolescent girls, to find sponsors, ambassadors, and mentors.

APRIL: How have you remained close with the Ugandan community you work with?
OYELLA: I have remained close to Uganda from my personal experiences and promising myself to remember it all… The good, bad – everything. I have also made it my mission to remember the language spoken in northern Uganda. Speaking to my relatives back home, to keep on top with current issues, following news, and speaking directly with schools, organizations in Uganda via Zoom, Facetime, Whatsapp, and other mediums.
APRIL: What measurable impact have you seen in developing communities in Uganda as a direct result of Go Bare?
OYELLA: To answer this you need to first understand Uganda’s history. Currently, around 70% of the population in Uganda live in poverty due to a civil war that has lasted for over 25 years…. One which I was born during. Although it has ended, it has left generations upon generations in poverty, illiterate, and or unable to attend full-time education. The individuals that we have interviewed, either have funds for education but are unable to attend city schools – due to no funds for educational materials including school shoes and uniforms. We aim to break that barrier by providing schoolwear, and reduce bullying in schools that can occur when someone’s clothing ‘looks cheap’. A quality uniform helps make the student feel and look confident, and fit in with his or her peers. Additionally, this allows the student to focus on their education, concentrate as well as empower their mindset.

APRIL: Lastly, tell me a little about where the organization is now and what’s next for you?
OYELLA: Currently, we have a website, Instagram account, team members in Uganda; including volunteers and Go Bare UK. Additionally, we produce exercise books with personalized words of encouragement. All books and pens are being printed in Uganda and distributed to selected schools and students. This has meant that we’ve been able to support local businesses and help them grow.
In five to 10 years, I see Go Bare expanding its activities globally, raising more awareness through public talks and conferences, and helping communities in Uganda become more self-sufficient by creating job opportunities.

You can find more about Go Bare on their website and Instagram page. Photos courtesy of Oyella Odong, headshot by Phil Story and website work by Creative Deploy.

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