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National Volunteer Week is taking place April 19 – 25, 2009 , and to celebrate the occasion, I’m spearheading an initiative where I'll live life without shoes for the entire week. As they say, “You never really know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes,” so I’m taking it a step further: I'm going barefoot!

I am asking fellow students, teachers and the general public to do the same, or as long as they can, to better understand the struggles faced by underprivileged children in the developing world – many of whom cannot afford shoes, let alone attend school or even know where their next meal is coming from.

Children in these countries walk miles in their bare feet every day to fetch water, work on their farm lands, go to school, or perform other chores. For many of them, the first priority is to take care of their families.

I am happy to say that people such as Nigel Fisher, president of UNICEF Canada, is on board. Also taking part is ORCA book publishers, award-winning novelist Eric Walters, members of the World Partnership Walk Committee, and most importantly, schools in Ottawa , Calgary and Montreal . The initiative is also gaining momentum in countries as far away as Australia, Afghanistan, England, Switzerland, Thailand, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania. The word on the initiative is traveling fast!

Going barefoot from April 19 to 25 will give people the time to reflect and raise awareness about the injustices facing children in our world. And when people ask you why you don’t have shoes, you can tell them because too many children around the world don’t either.

We can’t wait any longer. Go bare feet with me and make change – one step at a time.