HAYDEN - Old shoes can start a new life in Africa.

Through the "Shoes for Love" national campaign, beaten up, broken down and even single shoes can be reused to help provide footwear for African children.

Wyatt Black, 15, of Hayden, has taken on the project to send 20,000 pairs of shoes to Africa so he can advance from Boy Scout to Eagle Scout. He has placed collection boxes in the Super 1 Foods of Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, Rathdrum and Post Falls.

"Think of how blessed we are to have shoes," he said. "Think of the African kids and how they don't have that luxury."

Wyatt began working on the project Sept. 21. He said so far, he and other individuals and groups working on Shoes for Love have collected 19,800 pounds of shoes in two weeks. They are being held in a storage facility until a truck hauls them to their next destination.

The Coeur d'Alene High School freshman said he would like to go to Africa someday, but it's really up to his parents. He has been a Scout since he was 8.

"I'm hoping to learn to be more giving and caring for people who don't have what I have, and just to figure out how blessed I am to have what I have," he said.

According to Dando Amor, the organization that originally began the Shoes for Love drive, more than 680 million shoes are thrown away each year in America.

The shoe drive will continue until mid-October. Any shoe will do - any size, condition, make or model. Shoes not in wearable condition will be broken down and used for their raw materials.

For information, call Kristina Black at 699-1361 or Wyatt at 699-4589.