Local man distributed 50,000 pairs of shoes to children in six years

BİTLİS

A local man in Turkey’s east has been traveling from village to village for six years, meeting the needs of families in need.

Kadir Özdemir, a 31-year-old man who grew up under state protection since his father passed away before he was born and his mother succumbed to death while she was giving birth to him, visits villages in Turkey’s east from time to time, providing shoes to less-fortunate children.

Having reached a large audience on social media and delivered shoes purchased with the support of philanthropists across Turkey to children with his volunteer friends, Özdemir said that he distributed nearly 50,000 pairs of shoes in this short period of time.

“I go everywhere to make children happy. I’m doing this because I don’t forget where I come from,” Özdemir noted during his latest visit to a couple of villages in the province of Bitlis.

“When I received a pair of shoes while I was at the orphanage, it meant the world to me. We were very happy when we received gifts and shoes. We even used to sleep with these gifts sometimes,” Özdemir said, adding that he wants to continue on the same path.

Noting that he faced difficulties reaching some settlements in the region due to the winter conditions, Özdemir thanked everyone who sent help by responding to his social media posts.