Basketball shoes
Our focus and Tichyque's first love.
Kinshasa-bound · 2027
Their soles.
Her soul.
Fifi’s Soles collects gently used basketball shoes — and the soccer cleats and athletic shoes that come with them — and puts them on the feet of kids in Kinshasa, DRC. In memory of Fifi, who raised her son Tichyque on those streets.
Basketball-first, all athletic welcomeFamily-run · Senior capstone
Fifi’s Soles
Kinshasa · Durham · 2027
A two-brother project: Tichyque on the ground in Kinshasa, Nick running shoe drives at home.
What we take
Basketball shoes first.
Everything athletic welcome.
Tichyque grew up on basketball, and that’s the heart of the drive. But the kids he serves in Kinshasa play every sport on every surface — so anything with life left in it goes to good use.
Soccer cleats
Indoor or outdoor. Kids in Kinshasa play both.
Athletic shoes
Running, training, court shoes — anything with life left.
Condition checklist
- Soles intact, no major holes
- Laces present
- Clean or easily washable
- All sizes welcome — youth to adult
How it works
From your closet to a kid’s first pair.
01
Donate a pair
Drop gently used athletic shoes — basketball, soccer, or anything with miles left in them — at a participating school or partner location.
02
We collect and ship
Nick coordinates pickups from each drop location. Shoes are sorted by size, paired, and packed for the trip to Kinshasa.
03
Kids in Kinshasa play
Tichyque hands the shoes to kids at a summer 2027 sports camp in Kinshasa — the city where he grew up and where Fifi raised him.
In memory of
Fifi
Tichyque’s mother. She raised him in Kinshasa with what little she had. She is the reason he keeps coming back.
The story
One son in Kinshasa.
One brother in Durham.
Tichyque Musaka was orphaned in Kinshasa. He came to the United States at thirteen, with the clothes on his back and a love for basketball that opened every door he’s ever walked through. He’s spent the last few years quietly carrying basketball shoes back to the kids in his hometown.
His brother Nick is making the collection official. As his senior capstone at Trinity School of Durham & Chapel Hill, Nick is running shoe drives all year long. Together they’re building toward a summer 2027 sports camp in Kinshasa — where every kid leaves with shoes.
Read the full storyReady to give a pair?
Your old shoes have a long second life ahead of them.
Find a drop location, host a drive at your school, or get in touch about a bulk donation. We do not take cash — just shoes.