Our reality is not reality in the rest of the world.

Eduardo Fritis, TRG Realty

REALTOR® Eduardo Fritis of TRG Realty in Richmond has dreamed of sailing around the world ever since he was a little boy growing up in Chile.

Now 54, Fritis is not only on the verge of making his lifelong dream a reality, he’ll be making the world a better place in doing so.

Along with his wife and son, he will set sail in mid-July on a two-year voyage in what he has dubbed Shoes for the World. The trip will take him to ports in Mexico, South America, French Polynesia and the South Pacific. The family will bring shoes and other necessities to disadvantaged children in each of the ports they visit.

He was inspired by a photograph of a young boy clutching his first pair of shoes, and he has set his sights on using this experience to enrich the lives of local children as well.

“This is not only about helping to make the life of a child in another country better,” he says. “Of course that is a wonderful thing, but this is also about helping to connect children in different parts of the world.

“Our reality is not reality in the rest of the world. We can tell this to our children, but it has a deeper impact when they can see through the eyes of another child,” he says.

Through internet media like email and Skype, Eduardo believes the connections that will be made will embed a sense of global responsibility and mutual understanding in all the children involved in his endeavour.

He has been working on setting up teams of volunteers to work throughout Metro Vancouver to collect and ship out donations. Because their sailboat is not very big, he will coordinate the delivery of the donations to the ports they visit while he is at sea.

“What better way is there to do something that matters, to network with others, and to help give a child a little extra light in their life?”

If you would like to get involved, Eduardo can be reached at eduardofritis@shaw.ca.