20 MH.CO.ZA/ August 2019
fulfil his need to help those who are victims
of their circumstances. He began working
on the business that, two years later, he
would launch as VOSK.
FOOTPRINTS FOR CHANGE
“To make our shoes unique, we designed
the sole of our sneakers to have the African
continent on the bottom, so you can ‘Imprint
Africa wherever you go’. This allows people
to leave a trail of their origin wherever they
travel around the world,” says Wesley.
Initially, he wasn’t sure how VOSK wouldmanage to be charitable, but he knew he had
to find a good cause to focus on before taking
the brand any further. The only way to find a
suitable charity was to do charity work.
“I went with some friends and familyto an orphanage in Malmesbury. There I
saw the volunteers washing kids’ feet while
talking to them about life, their dreams
and their interests, before handing each
one a new pair of shoes. I thought this was
amazing,” he says.
The group of people that he saw was
Samaritan’s Feet, an international
organisation that facilitates various “Giving
Days” for orphanages and charities. They
have given shoes to over seven million
people around the globe. “That’s where our
partnership started,” says Wesley.
Through meeting with Samaritan’s Feet,
Wesley learnt all about the fight against
shoelessness, and how more than one-and-
a-half billion people around the world are
infected with parasitic diseases transmitted
through contaminated soil. This results
in limited mobility, which often prevents
adults from being able to work, and stops
children from going to school.One method of preventing this is by
wearing proper footwear. “At VOSK and
Samaritan’s Feet, we want to do everything
we can to stop the spread of these life-
altering diseases by washing feet, providing
shoes, and encouraging individuals to get
involved. We empower people to help those
in need when they buy VOSK. If we can keep
selling shoes, we can keep giving shoes.”ONE STEP AT A TIME
From that initial decision to make shoes
back in 2016, it took Wesley two years of
hard work before he finally brought his
brand to life last year. And like any business
launch, it wasn’t without its share of
setbacks. At one stage, Wesley even moved
to Durban and lived with a friend in order
to work with a vulcanising manufacturer
close by.
“After about three months of sourcing
materials, building connections and
learning about shoemaking, I felt confident
that production could commence within
that week. So I grabbed my stuff, and made
my way back to Cape Town.”
But his return to the Mother City didn’t
bring good news. “That’s when it all started:
an endless array of ‘supplier issues’ and
‘technical problems’. At one point, we lent
them thousands of rands to replace a boiler,
which apparently had broken.
“Eighteen months later, I finally realisedWesley Vos,
planning to
further his
brand from his
office in Cape
Town.VOSK stock
ready to be
delivered to
online
customers.