These shoes grow five sizes to keep up with the kids who wear them

According to a report on Mashable, a charity worker named Kenton Lee has dreamt up a simple fix to an age-old problem: the constant need to buy new shoes for kids who outgrow them just months later. He and his team invented sandals that match the pace of children's growth via a system of buckles, buttons and pegs, which expand the shoes in length by up to five sizes. Built to last at least five years, they are made out of durable leather, metal snaps and compressed rubber.

In much of the developed world, the clothing needs of fast-growing kids can significantly impact a family's budget; but for those in impoverished areas who can't afford to buy shoes, the consequences can be far more severe. Without protection for their feet, these children are susceptible to infections from cuts, scrapes and soil-borne parasites that burrow into the skin, according to Lee's website The Show That Grows.

Lee was inspired to create the sandals while working at an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya in 2007. He was struck by the sight of a small girl whose shoes were so small that the ends had to be sheared off so her toes could poke out, according to The Shoe That Grows. Looking around, Lee quickly realized the girl's plight was not uncommon.

“So right there, spur of the moment, I thought, ‘Wouldn't it be nice if there was a pair of shoes that could adjust and expand their size? A pair of shoes that could grow?'” Lee told KPTV

Lee and his team shopped the idea around to various established shoe companies without success, before they partnered with Gary Pitman. The footwear veteran previously worked at Nike and Adidas, but left to start his own shoe design company, according to KPTV.

It took Pitman several months to develop Lee's design into a finished product, and he used a 3D printer to model foot sizes.

The Shoe That Grows sells the sandals for $10 per pair, and packs them into duffel bags that hold 50 each; these bags are then shipped to one of seven countries around the world. Lee told BuzzFeed that so far about 2,500 kids have received the shoes.

Source: Mashable/KPTV