He had no experience in footwear and major brands rejected him, but he created a shoe that grows up to 5 sizes and has already reached 500 thousand underprivileged children in more than 100 countries

Kenton Lee wasn’t looking to change the world that day in Kenya. He simply saw a girl with her toes sticking out of a shoe that was too small for her—one that someone had to cut open at the front so she could keep wearing it.

That stayed with him. More than 300 million children around the world go barefoot, exposed to parasites and infections that enter right there, through their feet. Kenton knew nothing about shoe design or manufacturing, but he took his idea to several major brands and offered it to them for free. They all said no: a shoe that lasts for years doesn’t generate profits.

So he made it himself. A leather sandal with adjustable buckles that expand up to five sizes, designed to last five full years. He founded Because International, and The Shoe That Grows was born. Today, that shoe no one wanted to manufacture has already provided footwear to hundreds of thousands of children in more than 100 countries.