Former Arsenal football great, Mesut Özil, and his BigShoe charity have made it possible for 18 children in South Africa to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Smile Foundation partnered with BigShoe to enable the surgeries that included cleft lip, cleft palate, and ear reconstruction.
The surgeries were carried out from Monday at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town.
Commenting at the end of Smile Week, the 33-year-old German footballer, who plays for the Turkish Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe, said: “Happy and proud another 18 children received life-changing reconstructive surgeries in South Africa.”
Posting on Twitter Özil added: “As a professional and privileged football player, I see it as my duty to give a part of the money I earn back to the people where it is most needed.”
So many children are ostracised because they have a physical deformity.
BigShoe is a non-profit organisation that works with doctors to provide life-changing surgeries for poor children.
The BigShoe charity concept started 2016 with two national football players France’s Paul Pogba and Mesut Özil from Germany.
The footballers financed 11 operations twice on needy children in Tanzania for EC 2016.
Up to now, Mesut Özil, Paul Pogba, Antonio Rüdiger and Philipp Lahm have joined the BigShoe with one Goal: helping children together with sports.
