By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
In 2014, Oumarou Idrissa founded AfriKicks, an organization that provides shoes to children and young adults in Africa.
Since its inception, AfriKicks, launched in Los Angeles, has collected and donated more than 240,000 pair of shoes worldwide and distributed them to remote, rural and impoverished communities in African nations including Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger and Gambia, as well as Belize and Cuba.
Homeless residents on Skid Row in Los Angeles have also been the recipients of footwear.
The California-based nonprofit, which is committed to creating positive change in Africa, has a goal to donate one million pairs of shoes by the end of 2025.
The philosophy of AfriKicks is “Ubuntu,” a belief in the universal bond of sharing and the principle of caring for each other’s well-being. The organization believes there is a responsibility to watch over and take care of others.
Ubuntu is the acknowledgment of both the rights and the responsibilities of every citizen in promoting individual and societal well-being.
Three times a year, AfriKicks sends thousands of shoes to remote villages in Africa.
“On my first trip to Africa, I had 80 pairs of shoes,” said Idrissa, who also works as an Uber driver. “The next time I went it was 300 pairs, then 6,000 and then 54,000. It kept growing.”
Idrissa, the CEO of AfriKicks, said his focus is on remote areas in Africa.
“That’s where there’s a need for shoes,” he said. “Shoes are a luxury that many families in African villages can’t afford. I want to ensure the people who need it the most, get the shoes.”
All year round, AfriKicks accepts gently worn shoes and brand new, toys, socks, underwear, medical supplies, clothing, school supplies, etc. for children and young adults in Africa. The organization has donated more than 1.3 million school supplies and toys to students in need, allowing them to pursue their dreams.
Idrissa believes donating gently worn shoes can help transform someone’s life.
When he first launched AfriKicks, Idrissa collected shoes solely from his friends. It quickly grew through donations from individuals, businesses and stores.
He has also received shoes from former Lakers star Dwight Howard, who donated 400 pairs of shoes. Senegalese-American singer Akon, who hosted the organization’s annual fundraiser gala in 2023, signed on as a brand ambassador.
The organization, which believes, “It takes a village to raise a child,” has personal meaning for Idrissa who didn’t own a pair of sneakers to call his own until he was 16.
Although they were hand-me-downs from his brother, they meant the world to Idrissa, who coped with poverty by playing soccer.
Idrissa, who was honored in 2023 with a leadership award by the king of Nigeria, grew up in a house made of mud with no electricity and no running water.
After finding asylum in the United States, he played for a local soccer team in California. Every time he would score a goal, he would earn $30.
“I tried to score as many goals as possible,” he said. “It allowed me to earn a living. Soccer not only kept me alive, it helped me help myself. I became a taxi driver on the side and I was soon able to collect and send gently worn shoes back to my village of Talladje Niamey in Niger, West Africa.”
Idrissa, who grew up with 25 siblings, remembers attending a party in 1996 where everyone showed up in sneakers, except him.
“I was in sandals,” he said. “I remember no one would dance with me.”
Those days are long gone but Idrissa, now 43, never forgot how the lack of sneakers made him feel.
Years later, on a visit to his family’s village in Niger, he got the idea to start AfriKicks.
“While visiting a school in a remote African village, I noticed there were 59 students in the class and 47 of them were barefoot,” said Idrissa, a new father of a two-month-old daughter named Samyra. “About 90% of girls there have never worn a sneaker. I wanted to do something.”
For years he contemplated what he could do to make a difference.
“It is beyond a humbling realization that through the distribution of our sneakers, more children and young adults are participating in sports, and educational programs and contributing to their communities at large,” said Idrissa, who believes ownership of a pair of sneakers is empowering. “The power of a pair of shoes to a child with few possessions, who are living under extreme poverty conditions, can have paramount effects on a child’s future. Shoes represent hope to children.”
Since arriving in America in the early 2000s and moving to Los Angeles in 2005 because it had always been his dream, Idrissa said, ‘It’s been a crazy journey with lots of ups and downs.’
At Long Beach City College, the soccer coach wanted him to play on the team but Idrissa said he couldn’t go to school because he didn’t have a job.
“I needed to work because my family back home was depending on me,” he said.
In addition to distributing shoes, AfriKicks has Impact For Humanity, a collaborative mission that delivers life-changing humanitarian aid and efforts. The organization aims to create lasting change and uplift the lives of African children and families, empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and build a brighter future.
AfriKicks also sponsors water wells through Clean Water For All, a program that aims to provide clean drinking water to people who lack access to fresh and sanitary water. So far, the organization has constructed 12 wells in two countries. Each well costs $18,000 and is designed to serve more than 100,000 citizens for the rest of their lives.
AfriKicks is always looking for donations, volunteers, volunteer coaches and individuals or organizations to host shoe drives.
Idrissa, an award-winning humanitarian who now owns six pairs of sneakers, didn’t launch AfriKicks to receive accolades. He believes everyone should do what they can to help others.
“The smile I see from those kids and families is priceless, that’s what keeps me going,” he said.
People wanting to donate to AfriKicks, can drop off donations to its office at 12618 Yukon Ave. in Hawthorne. For more information visit www.afrikicks.org.
“Making a Difference” is a regular feature profiling organizations that are serving their communities. To propose a “Making a Difference” profile, send an email to newsroom@wavepublication.com.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
