Flip Flops can change the world? Yes, they can. Find out how in our interview with Kathy Wong, Founder and Chief Energy Officer of Moeloco.
If I ever publish an autobiography, this would be its tagline:
She always followed her heart.
You are based in Sydney, what do you love about the social impact community there?
I love the way our social enterprise community is gaining more momentum here. Not that long ago Melbourne was viewed as more the home for the social impact space, the cool events were down there but there is just as much happening here.
Tell us more about your vision for Moeloco and why you started this social enterprise.
My vision almost three years down the track is different to what I started with.
I began Moeloco when I learnt that there are over 300 hundred million children in the world without shoes living in extreme poverty. That many of these children would never own a pair of shoes in their life, that some were not able to attend school because they don’t own shoes. The reason for this is that the schools don’t want diseases being spread through their feet. I was horrified to learn that these diseases could be life threatening too. When I started to dive more into poverty and its consequences like human trafficking and organ harvesting, I just knew with every cell in my body I had to do something.
That’s why I started Moeloco.
Was there a certain moment when you decided, that you wanted to build something from scratch?
When I learnt about social enterprise, it made perfect sense; it was a no-brainer for me then to decide that’s what I needed to build from scratch to achieve my mission.
Who inspires you personally?
Many people but my biggest inspiration are the children of India in poverty. Their huge smile, joy and resilience help me centre and focus especially when I’m feeling sorry for myself and I get overwhelmed with the complexity of poverty.
Do you measure your impact?
Yes with the shoes we are giving, and we continually check in on the kids through our charity partner we have given through. We are currently looking for new ways we can give back like through the supply chain which will also be another way of measuring impact.
What do you wish you would have known before starting out?
I would have liked to understand better how to assess a product.
What is the craziest thing you did so far to market your business?
Travelled around the world to meet with the online Moeloco community, captured that on film and made a short video to use for promotion.
How will you sustain your organisation?
By growing our product range, developing collaborations, building our international sales and looking for more revenue streams.
What gives you the worst sleepless nights right now?
The sheer amount of work and the number of moving parts.
What was the most memorable moment working with StartGiving?
Visiting India for the first time and giving shoes to the kids.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring change-makers, what would that be?
Know your why and believe in this, back yourself, stay focused on that regardless of what challenges arise then surround yourself with others who will lift you up.
Surround yourself with others who will lift you up Click To Tweet
Where can we follow you?
You can head over to our website. We are also on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Google Plus and You Tube.
Hello changemaker! Get in touch with us here if you also want to be featured on our blog or if you know of someone who is making a social impact with their work. We love to hear from you! Listen to our Podcast interviews with inspiring changemakers here
