MrBeast gives 20,000 kids in Africa their first pair of shoes so they can walk to school

Jack Peat

Pupils in rural villages often have to walk several miles every day

YouTube philanthropist MrBeast has handed out shoes to 20,000 kids in Africa to help them walk to and from school.

Uploading his latest video, the social media star pointed out that for many pupils in rural towns, walking to school barefoot is their only option.

It means they have to “walk through miles over harsh terrain, broken glass and contaminated water”, he explained.

MrBeast and his team flew to South Africa where they teamed up with a charity called Barefoot No More.

The social enterprise creates footwear designed with innovative materials, making them durable and comfortable.

According to the influencer, they’re the ‘perfect seamless shoe’.

Speaking to two junior teachers in a rural village in South Africa, one explained that one of the biggest challenges regarding education is actually “getting the kids to school”, with students having to walk miles each day.

“It can be a struggle with all the thorns and needles [on the ground]; I wouldn’t go to school. I can be a great teacher, but I can’t be a teacher to nobody,” Roswell said.

MrBeast shared that once the shoes had landed, they were sent to nine different schools across the region.

And once word got out that sneakers were up for grabs, the schools were ‘completely packed’ with eager children waiting to snag a pair.

“To witness these kids wearing their first-ever pairs of shoes was really emotional and again, a realisation of the basic needs that most of us take for granted,” MrBeast said.

The free school shoes campaign is not the first time MrBeast has used his YouTube channel to fund his philanthropy.

In January, the YouTube sensation – real name Jimmy Donaldson – cured 1,000 people of their blindness in a staggering display of generosity and kindness.

He paid for thousands of people to get the surgery needed to restore their sight.

In the video, which has been viewed 120 million times, MrBeast starts by explaining that while blindness is permanent for some people, it can be cured by a simple procedure in a lot of cases.

He said: “They can’t see but we have all the technology to fix this.”