We supported the track and field club of a sports high school in Vientiane, Laos, donating running shoes and spike shoes. Since one of the JICA members working in the country was from Matsuyama, Aichi in Japan, we held a campaign there, asking the residents to donate sports shoes. Fortunately, a larger number of shoes were donated than we had anticipated. Athletes in Laos will continue using the donated shoes.

In Laos it is difficult to find the right shoes for track-and-field. Many of the athletes have no choice but to use shoes donated in the past. However, shoes do not last that long and there were concerns about the athletes having accidents due to using old shoes. The campaign was launched by JICA members who wanted all track-and-field athletes, including beginners, to wear shoes suitable for the events. The JAAF Ehime and the administrative office of Ehime Prefectural Sports Complex collaborated in publicizing the campaign and many shoes were sent in. The supporting organisation of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) in Ehime sent the shoes to Laos. We can see big smiles of the children with shoes in the photos. We believe that they will continue working hard at track-and-field in order to achieve their individual goals.