Updated: 9:11 a.m. Monday, May 21, 2012

Posted: 5:18 p.m. Sunday, May 20, 2012

Justin Chapman, 16, has visited his mother’s homeland of Peru since he was a  baby, and by the time he was about 6 years old, he already was worrying  about the children he encountered there.

“I realized how poor they were,” said Chapman, a junior at Suncoast  High School. “They didn’t have very much and what they did have was of  poor quality.”

By age 12, Chapman was collecting toys and toothbrushes to take with him to  Peru. Today, he took his charitable work to another level.

With the help of his congregation at the United Methodist Church of the Palm  Beaches, Chapman organized “Walk a Mile Without Shoes,” an event  that had the dual purpose of providing participants a small taste of what  it’s like not to have shoes and also raising money to provide poor Peruvian  kids with footware.

About 35 participants of all ages walked barefoot a half mile from the church  down Brandywine Road and then returned. Instead of collecting shoes and  flying them to Peru, Chapman collected money from participants, sponsors of  participants, and other donors, and the funds will go to buy shoes in Peru,  which will save on shipping costs.

The shoes will go to kids in and around a town called Huaycan, outside the  capital of Lima, and a place Chapman first visited years back with his  mother and a cousin, Clinton Vargas, who lives in Peru.

Among the participants was Rick Wagner, 64, of West Palm Beach, who complained  good-humoredly about the tarmac toasting the soles of his feet.

“We could use a little rain or even a cloud overhead, but no such luck”  he said gazing at a mostly blue sky. “Still, we have a choice whether  to wear shoes or not and those kids in Peru don’t.”

Another participant was Darleen Maenche, missions chairperson for the church.

“It’s absolutely fantastic that someone this age would have this kind of  insight,” she said

Justin first took donations for Peruvian children following a 2007 earthquake  that killed more than 500 people.

“My mom said, ‘What has happened is terrible. People have to do  something,’ ” Chapman said. “And I said, ‘Mom, why don’t we do  something?’ “

Last year he returned and took clothing.

Elizabeth Chapman and her husband, Ron, said they collected $1,554 today.  Additional tax-deductible donations can be made payable to the United  Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches, 900 Brandywine Road, West Palm Beach,  FL 33409, marked “For Justin Chapman Shoes for Peru project.”

Elizabeth Chapman could barely contain her pride in her son.

“How could I not support him?” she said. “This is something  that came straight from his heart.”