Great feats to help farmer get size 19 shoes
Print Edition
A POOR farmer who struggles to find shoes that fit his massive feet is being flooded with offers of footwear after the local government launched a campaign highlighting his plight.
Huduyum Berdi, of Hetian Prefecture in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has feet measuring 33 centimeters long — a shoe size of 19 in the United States, 18.5 in the United Kingdom and a European 56.
“Since I was 18, I have been unable to buy shoes,” said the 41-year-old.
In the past 20 years, he has only found one pair of suitable leather shoes, which are now reserved for special occasions.
He wears cheap plastic slippers while doing farm work but is forced to stay at home on the coldest days.
Trapped at home
“When other villagers go to towns for work in the slack season I am trapped at home because I don’t have shoes,” said Huduyum Berdi, who is 185 centimeters tall.
A father of three, he pays 200 yuan (US$32) a week for his children to go to school. The farmer has 0.2 hectares of land, 50 date palms, 10 sheep and five geese.
Local officials became aware of Huduyum Berdi’s plight in late March.
“On a very cold day in Hetian, we found him wearing only a pair of scruffy slippers on his land,” said official Yang Guoqiang.
Yang was among 200,000 Xinjiang civil servants sent to rural areas in March under an initiative to improve residents’ livelihoods.
He and colleagues scoured shopping malls in Hetian and regional capital Urumqi for size 56 shoes, but the largest they could find was 50.
So using the official WeChat account of the local government’s poverty-busting campaign, the officials posted an appeal for help.
Since the original post in early April, offers of assistance have flooded in from home and abroad.
“We did not expect the post to attract so much attention,” said Wang Lili, an editor of the WeChat account.
Dai Junshi, owner of a shoe factory in Chongqing City in southwest China is among those who have stepped in.
He said he would like to make shoes for Huduyum Berdi for the rest of his life.
“China is one of the world’s most important shoe manufacturers,” he said. “How can a Chinese fail to find suitable shoes?”
And sportswear manufacturer Li Ning, which made size-55 trainers for US basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, called on suppliers for help.
“We have found a pair of size 55s. We will send them to Huduyum Berdi to see if they’re suitable,” a staff member said.
Individuals have also offered assistance. Web user “Fangfang” says her grandmother makes cloth shoes and is happy to get to work on two pairs for the farmer.
“I’m sorry to trouble these kind-hearted people, but I hope the price is no more than 100 yuan,” Huduyum Berdi said.
“When I have shoes, I can go to work in both summer and winter and my kids can live a better life.”
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