What do you do when your slippers break?

To Rebekah Kamemoto, a sophomore at La Pietra Hawaii School for Girls, the answer had always seemed obvious enough: You buy a new pair, right?

"Even if it’s the $1.99 kind from Longs," Kamemoto says.

But that wasn’t what she was hearing from her contact at Aiea Elementary School.

Like so many other public schools on Oahu, Aiea Elementary finds itself in the difficult position of trying to provide equal educational opportunities to a growing population of students whose families struggle to secure the basic essentials of food, clothes and shelter.

Sometimes, Kamemoto was told, slippers break and there isn’t money — not even $1.99 — to get a new pair.

That realization was all it took for Kamemoto to get moving.

Diagnosed at age 5 with dyslexia, dysgraphia (a condition that impairs a person’s ability to write), and other learning disabilities, Kamemoto grew up sympathizing with those who have to overcome significant obstacles to achieve what comes naturally to others.

For Kamemoto, it was the initiative of her parents to recognize her early struggles, the care and diligence of her teachers and counselors at Assets School (which she attended for five years before transferring to La Pietra) to help her develop skills to compensate for her disabilities, and the friendship and support of her classmates that made all the difference.

"My teachers are so helpful and the other girls have been such a great support group," Kamemoto says.

Now, Kamemoto reasoned, it was her turn to try to make a difference in other students’ lives.

As vice president of La Pietra’s Leo Club (the volunteer youth arm of the Lions Club), Kamemoto has spearheaded a drive to collect new and lightly used shoes for disadvantaged first- and second-graders at Aiea Elementary.

"I love children," Kamemoto says, "and my passion has always been helping other people."

With three weeks left to go, Kamemoto and her fellow club members have gathered more than 30 pairs of shoes and slippers to donate.

"It’s a work in progress," Kamemoto says of her first attempts at organizing a charitable effort.

Kamemoto says the club is using this first drive to gain experience and identify kinks that need to be addressed.

She says she intends to promote a bigger, more ambitious drive next year.

Whatever the scale, Kamemoto says she is hopeful that her efforts will make an impact.

"We’re always talking about doing your best and getting to the top, but it’s difficult to get to the top with literally and figuratively no slippers on your feet," Kamemoto says.

Condolences to the family and friends of Elwood Asing, who was featured in an Oct. 7 column. Asing died in Las Vegas on Nov. 28 at the age of 74.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.