Antonio Rudiger has begun his Qatar World Cup preparations in Sierra Leone, the country where his mother was born.
The Real Madrid player has done so by donating all the money he expects to earn in this World Cup so that 11 children can be operated on and have a better and fairer life.
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In cooperation with the German aid organisation BigShoe, and as he did last January, the Real Madrid defender has financed a series of extremely complex, expensive and, most importantly, life-changing treatments for the children.
Rudiger’s connection with his Sierra Leone home
In this case, the young patients come from Lunsar, a town in Rudiger‘s second home, Sierra Leone, where his mother Lily is from, and they suffer mainly from congenital club feet.
This issue greatly affects the children’s lives, not only because of the obvious physical problems, but also because these disabilities are highly stigmatised socially in Sierra Leone.
Not only are patients forced to rely on crutches for the rest of their lives, but they also become socially isolated, suffer bullying at school and have little chance of getting a job and leading a normal life afterwards.
“It hurts to see the circumstances in which children in Sierra Leone are growing up,” explained Rudiger, who is happy when he receives the news that the operations have gone well.
“During surgery, the misalignment is corrected before the patients are finally able to walk and participate in social life, after several months of follow-up treatment.”
Rudiger is clear that this kind of help is the least he can do because of his privileged position in society thanks to football.
“I have been given opportunities in Germany that many people in Sierra Leone are denied,” he said.
“I am grateful for these opportunities and I greatly appreciate the privileged situation I am in.
“Helping here is a matter of honor for me. I would like to implement many more projects in Sierra Leone with my family in the future.”
Rudiger is a charitable man
Rudiger is not only helping in Sierra Leone. In Germany, he is involved in a great deal of social work, and in London he was a regular at children’s hospitals, where he had to say some emotional farewells when he decided to swap Chelsea for Real Madrid.
Aside from operations, the Real Madrid player sent a multitude of shirts to Sierra Leone to cheer up the children after their often extremely painful surgeries.
He has also laid the groundwork for the Antonio Rudiger Foundation for Sierra Leone to open next year, with which he intends to be even more active in helping the country where his mother was born.
