In its first eight months Moeloco had put more than fourteen hundred shoes on children’s feet. With every pair of Moeloco flip flops purchased, the social enterprise gives a pair of school shoes to a child in poverty. One for one.
This week I had special guest Kathy Wong, founder and Chief Energy Officer, on my podcast talking about Moeloco, and how social enterprises like this one can really help to solve some of the world’s most pressing social, environmental and economic issues.
By providing shoes to underprivileged children, Moeloco assists in granting access to education in order to provide employment opportunities and a better way of life out of such difficult conditions.
This simple idea of a flip flop that provides a pair of school shoes for each pair sold is now a fashion brand sold internationally that has impacted almost 8,000 children in three and a half years.
In the podcast we talk about the rise of social impact business and hear Kathy’s impactful journey. Her advice – Heart-led leadership and compassion. Through this kind of leadership we can see fundamental social and economic barriers overcome by ethical business and opportunity.
“Deciding to start a business isn’t always easy and I admit, I was a bit of a serial entrepreneur in the past. Prior to starting Moeloco, I went through the process of discovering who I was and appreciating my many unique gifts – and it was through recognising my self-worth that I discovered a deep desire to inspire others.
Through meeting like-minded people on my life’s travels, I made a discovery that would change my life forever: there are 300 million children in the world without shoes, some dying from foot diseases caused from being barefoot and many denied an education as schools prevent anyone without shoes from attending. It’s a stark contrast to how our children live in Australia, and I find it rather amazing!”
Kathy’s journey of social impact continues as she explores ways that we can encourage the youth of our generation to become involved in entrepreneurship.
Kathy recently founded Moeloco Youth, a group of passionate individuals formed from the Moeloco community. They aim to empower, educate and equip young people to pursue their dream, passion and potential through entrepreneurship and create a life doing something that matters to them, whilst driving humanity forward.
“The Moeloco Youth movement was formed through the growing number of young people that have reached out to us, inspired to become change makers, to create their own path in life and to make a difference in the world. It is inspired by young people who are conscious of global issues and want to take action and be part of the solution.”
You can follow the Moeloco journey on their website or purchase a pair of Flip Flops that change lives.
