Growing up without a lot of money, Staff Sgt. Nikkelya Barbee knows what it's like to do without. "When I got hand-me-downs, it meant the world to me" remarks Barbee. She knows what hard times feel like, and the impact someone else's cast off to someone in need.
Now she is paying it forward for children in Africa one pair of shoes at a time. Barbee sends second-hand shoes to needy children in Africa every month through her non-profit organization "The Lady in the Shoe."
Barbee, a contract specialist at the 928th Contracting Battalion, relied on the kindness of others to help make ends meet. She was raised primarily by her grandmother.
"My parents weren't around much, and my grandmother did the best she could. It was through others' generosity that my sister and I were given hand-me-downs," said Barbee.
The idea to send shoes to children in Africa came to her from someone who was seeing firsthand the effects of not having footwear.
"My kid's father, Gerald Moore, works in Djibouti, Africa, as a crew chief at the fire department. When he came to visit, we all went shoe shopping. He said, 'I just want to buy a bulk of shoes and ship them to the local orphanages.'"
Barbee soon learned that many of the children in Africa have infections on their feet because they don't have shoes. She promptly went through her own shoes and started asking friends for shoes. Barbee even posted on Facebook under the "take my stuff page."
With coordination from Moore, she was able to send a box to the Caritas orphanage in Africa that included 53 pairs of shoes of all sizes.
"After the first box I asked did they need more shoes." The answer was a definite yes. Barbee was able to gather 57 pairs of shoes for the next box.
However, things slowed down after that. The next month Barbee wasn't able to collect any shoes. On a friend's suggestion, Barbee started visiting thrift shops to see if she could claim the cast-off shoes that didn't get sold.
Barbee tried to do just that.
"I walked into the Thrift shop on post and asked if I could get the shoes they don't use at the end of each month. The manager said sure, we just need your organization name on a letterhead stating who you are and what you will do with the shoes," said Barbee. "Well I was upset because I knew I wasn't an organization and it was just me."
She was not to be deterred. After a little research, Barbee was able to set up a non-profit organization that would allow her to volunteer and continue to send shoes.
Barbee, a mother of four, came up with the name for "Lady and the Shoe" because "I am a mother and I always have a house full of children, just like the nursery book."
With the non-profit now established, Barbee can gather more shoes to send. She's also resourceful in finding other means to collect shoes.
"My daughters and I go through the recycling center and get boxes out the bins to mail these shoes. I do it because someone that didn't know me cared about me; now I get to pay it forward."
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