Nine-year-old Dario Gouveia has vowed to not stop collecting shoes - from fancy heels to spunky sneakers - until he reaches a million pairs.
Dario doesn't have a shoe fetish - the Grade 4 Alberton schoolboy has taken on the massive task of collecting the shoes for the less fortunate.
He started his Sole2Sole initiative five months ago after he handed his own pair of school shoes, which he had outgrown, to a shoeless boy begging with his mother on a street corner.
Since then Dario has amassed more than 8,000 pairs - 1,300 of which he donated to Knysna fire victims last week.
His efforts have inspired children from as far afield as New Zealand to start their own campaigns.Dario was initially sceptical about taking donations of sparkly heels, but he has since realised their worth: giving matric girls a chance to add an extra touch of glamour to their matric farewell ensembles.
"I saw this barefoot kid at the side of the road kicking stones. He touched me. My mom and I rushed home and gave him a pair of shoes that no longer fitted me. He was very, very happy," said Dario.
Dario wrote a letter to his friends at school, appealing for donations of shoes.
"My goal at the time was 1,000. People opened their hearts and started donating. In a few months, I have collected 8,200 pairs of shoes. We collect the shoes from collection points at shops and malls and we drop them off at orphanages and shelters.
"One of my school friends emigrated to New Zealand last year. She heard about what I'm doing and started her own campaign there and she's collected over 2,000 pairs, which she donated to the Salvation Army.
"I love doing good for others. I will continue until I reach a million pairs of shoes."
His mother, Zita, said Dario's campaign was contained in Gauteng for now because of logistics.
"People are so generous, everybody has been amazing. It's been completely through social media that Dario's initiative has gone viral," she said.
His latest project has been Knysna.
"Dario saw the devastation of the Knysna fire on TV and asked me to get shoes there. There was a company in Randburg appealing to everybody to donate whatever they could. We packed the shoes for two to three hours and got it to them...