A story from No Roads Expedition Manager – Peter Miller

Stanley is one of our best Lead Guides in Papua New Guinea. He comes from Kagi, a small village half way along the infamous Kokoda Track. His forefathers helped Australians during the war with Japan by tending to the sick and wounded and carrying supplies across the rugged Owen Stanley Ranges. He is a proud man with a proud tradition and a smile that warms you when you meet him.

When I first met Stanley several years ago, he was walking the Kokoda Track with no shoes on. This was quite common in fact.

Recently, I walked the Kokoda Track during the April ANZAC period and I was glad to know that Stanley would be leading our group. Upon greeting him on the grass airstrip at Kokoda, I was pleased to see that his feet were covered by proper hiking boots. At closer observation, I saw that they were Keen shoes and then realised that several of our Porters had Keen shoes on.

Over the years, No Roads Expeditions, has been sending hiking shoes to Porters in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. These shoes ensure that the Porters feet remain healthy and as such, will lengthen their careers as Porters, providing much needed funds to their families back in their home villages.

For over a year, Keen Australia, has been donating hiking shoes and boots for our operations in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. These shoes are excellent for the rugged conditions and all the Porters like them because they have hard soles, are light weight and dry quickly.

On day 4 of my trek, I bumped into a Porter from another company who also had Keen shoes on. To top it off, he also sported a Keen baseball cap. Keen really is on the Kokoda Track.

I would like to thank Keen for supporting our effort to protect the feet of all Porters along the Kokoda Track. Their feet are their tools of trade and without healthy strong feet, many Porters simply would not be able to provide for their families.

If you would like to support our cause you can check out our website at www.noroads.com.au or send us a pair of your old hiking boots (they must be in good order) to 3/77 Beach Rd, Sandringham Vic 3191.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 4:22 pm and is filed under Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.