Shoeshine: South Sudan vs. Kenya

South Sudanese men, like most African men,  like to have clean, shiny shoes. With all the sand and dust in countries like South Sudan, shoes need to be cleaned regularly. That provides a good business opportunity for entrepreneurs, both big and small. 

I was recently in Aweil Town with one of our national colleagues, a young man named Dammasio. Dammasio is a pastor-in-training and will be the director of the new school we are planning to start in our village in April.

While Dammasio was waiting for me to do an errand he decided to have his shoes shined. The young man who shined them is shown below. His supplies are basic, and he uses chairs at an outdoor tea shop. Dammasio took off his shoes, and the shoe shiner gave him some sandals to wear while he waited. The cost of the shoeshine: 1 SS pound, which is about 35 cents.

Shoe shiner and his supplies

Hard at work

Putting on the shined shoes

Dammasio, with a friend, sporting his shined shoes

I'm just completing two weeks of R&R (rest and recuperation/refreshment) and have spent several days in Nairobi. I was impressed to see the "Professional Shoeshine Centre" shown below, as compared with the South Sudanese version. It struck me as a good illustration of the difference in development between the two countries. Interestingly, the cost of a shoe shine is about the same.

Shoeshine centre in Nairobi

Shoeshine publicity