A kindly carpenter in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has been helping local Palestinians get back on their feet amid the ongoing conflict by making affordable made-to-measure wooden shoes out of whatever available resources he can find to prevent people having to walk barefoot around their displacement camps.
Carpenter Saber Dawas was one of the many who fled from northern Gaza to escape the Israeli bombardment, but with the difficulties caused by the continuing conflict and the blockage of aid supplies from the closed Rafah border crossing seeing the prices of daily goods soar, he has sought to offer some help to those in need.
Dawas' unexpected shoe-making endeavor came about as many of his family members were in dire need of footwear, and he became especially worried about his children, who were most vulnerable to the potential health hazards posed by walking barefoot.
The father says he made his first batch of shoes with a borrowed saw and wood taken down from his tent.
"There are six people in my family, they all need shoes. I went to the market to buy shoes, but I found the prices are too high, and I couldn't afford them. We can barely afford to buy food and water. Being a carpenter, I came up with the idea of making wooden shoes for them. I cut a piece of wood from the tent and made it into sandals. It was while looking at the tent that this idea came to me. When I came here from the north, I brought a saw with me, but it wasn't very sharp. So, I had to borrow other tools from my neighbors. It's hard to survive without thinking ahead," he said.
With the spread of disease being "rampant" in Rafah and out of fears that other barefooted youths like his children would suffer, Dawas decided to make more of his handmade, customized-size shoes to sell to others at a fair price.
"The closure of the borders led to a shortage of essential items for children, which sparked this idea. As you can see, diseases are rampant here, and the children are barefoot. They could get injured. I thought of making a batch of wooden shoes to sell cheaply at the market so that the children could at least have something to wear," he said.
The carpenter's wooden shoes have been well received by young customers. Heba, a local resident in Rafah, said the shoes saved her from the huge discomfort of walking on the hot ground, as well as avoiding the costly price of the other shoes available at the market.
"Everything is expensive now. We went to the market to buy shoes but couldn't find anything [suitable]. When we returned, we found someone making shoes in their tent. We went over, found our sizes, bought the shoes, and went home. That was our only option because we didn't have shoes and walking barefoot on the hot ground was unbearable," she said.
Gazan carpenter helps locals get back on feet by making affordable wooden shoes
