It's the first buy-up of boots under a charity initiative called "Asylum Sneakers" which is harnessing the popularity of the World Cup to raise money for sports gear for child asylum-seekers.
And, as Karen Ashford reports, if the generosity of soccer fans continues, as many as 1,300 children could soon be sporting new footwear.
A rainy Adelaide morning couldn't dampen the excitement of more than 20 children who'd gathered by the arrival of a big box of opportunity.
The boots are for kids on bridging visas.
Their parents, like Andre Ntibesha from Burundi, can't afford special footwear for his two daughters and son.
"Some of us can't afford to buy them, and especially when we have many children we can't have these hundreds to buy those boots and when it is an occasion when they get them for free I think that is very, very important."
For some of the children, aged five to 18, it might be their first pair of shoes that aren't second-hand.
14 year old Aline has played football previously.
"But not, like, with boots, just like with normal shoes, normal sports shoes. I feel excited, speechless".
And in almost no time at all, the new boots were pulled on and play was underway.
Asylum Sneakers is the idea of refugee support network, Welcome to Australia.
National Director Brad Chilcott says the World Cup has captured people's attention in far greater numbers than the plight of asylum-seekers - so the idea was to link to two in an online campaign.
And he says they found the perfect person to be the campaign's public face, SBS football icon Les Murray.
"There's been a great response from the public and having Les Murray on board has certainly helped and connecting this to the World Cup and to Les's personal story of belonging in Australia has been fantastic."
Les Murray says the campaign captured his heart for very personal reasons.
"I'm a refugee, came to Australia as a boy refugee at the age of 11, so I can relate to the challenges refugees have, particularly children, and how important football is to them in coping with their challenges when they first come to a country like Australia, so I could relate to that."
SBS World Cup fans have already helped fund a third of the boots bought so far, in response to a story broadcast on SBS Radio late last month.
If the generosity continues the aim is to send around 1,300 pairs to asylum-seeker children across Australia.
Les Murray says it's time for people to convert their generosity of thought into a real gesture that makes a real difference for children.
"We talk a lot about refugees in Australia, asylum-seekers and refugees settled or not yet settled. I think we have to make their life a bit easier. I think we have to empathise with them, sympathise with them, and I ask all Australians and particularly those who are watching the World Cup to appreciate this and to contribute if they can to Asylum Sneakers."
Brad Chilcott says the idea goes beyond just sport, to create a sense of welcome and belonging.
"Well you can't underestimate the power of relationships, the power of friendship to help someone feel like they belong. And if every day you see in the news, on the newspapers, that you're not welcome here, these kids know that that refers to them. They see it at school, they hear it from other kids in the street and the idea of a gift of someone saying you belong here, you're welcome here, you deserve to have the same kind of life that me and my kids have, the power of that can't be underestimated."
Share
