Arsenal and England star Bukayo Saka has helped pay for 120 surgeries in Nigeria that have changed the lives of children.
Saka, who is 21, is getting ready for his first World Cup after being called up to Gareth Southgate’s England team. But that hasn’t stopped him from focusing on other things.
Working with the youth organization BigShoe, the winger was very important in last month’s medical procedures for children in Kano.
Concerns about diseases like groin hernias and brain tumors in Nigeria led Saka to do what he did.
At the time, the 21-year-old said, “I feel blessed to be in a position where I can help make the kids’ lives easier and better through these surgeries.”
“I still feel very close to Nigeria.” It is very important to me to use my skills to make a difference wherever I can, and I want to thank the whole BigShoe team for making this happen.
“I believe that every child should have the same chances to reach their goals.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, this is it. It was very important to me.” Seeing kids and their parents happy makes me happy.
“I want to help as many kids as I can and do more.”
Five doctors worked together to treat and care for the kids during the surgeries in the middle of October, which went well.
Nigeria’s second-largest city, Kano, has a problem that a lot of kids there are having.
The Arsenal star isn’t the only player to work with BigShoe lately. Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid agreed to give all of his World Cup earnings to children in Sierra Leone.
As of January, the Madrid defender set up The Antonio Rudiger Foundation For Sierra Leone. For a long time, the foundation has helped pay for medical care for deserving children in Sierra Leone.
Rudiger says that his work on BigShoe is a “matter of honor” and that he would “like to implement many more projects in Sierra Leone” with the World Cup coming up.
Rudiger’s actions are in answer to the problem of babies being born with club feet. There are a lot of kids who deal with this problem their whole lives.
After leaving Chelsea, the defender said, “It hurts to see how children in Sierra Leone grow up.”
“During surgery, the misalignment is fixed, and patients can finally walk and interact with others after a few months of follow-up care.”
“I’m thankful for these chances and really appreciate how lucky I am to be in this situation.”