Toni Rudiger’s foundation has committed to providing 60,000 face masks for low-income market traders in Sierra Leone, with support already provided by his Chelsea team-mates N’Golo Kante, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Olivier Giroud.

It follows on from the news we brought you yesterday that Rudiger has funded meals for nurses at the Berlin hospital where he was born for the next three months. The defender is now turning his philanthropic focus to the West African country his mother hails from, Sierra Leone. His personal foundation, Antonio Rudiger For Sierra Leone, is partnering with a local designer called Madam Wokie and the charity Lunch Box Gift to make and distribute 60,000 face masks in the capital Freetown.

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As Rudiger put it on his Twitter page, ‘this will hopefully reduce the spread of Covid-19’ in what is the most populous and dense city in the country, and where community-based transmission is reported to be increasingly rapidly. The target for the fund is $30,000, and Rudiger’s contribution has already been matched by Kante, Hudson-Odoi and Giroud, as well as his former international team-mate Mesut Ozil.

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Earlier this year Rudiger donated $101,000 to Sierra Leone’s Free Quality Education initiative, which aims to support over two million children in primary and secondary schools. Rudiger said at the time: “Sierra Leone is my home. I’m not the talking type of a person, I am about action.You can count on us and do not hesitate. We are here to support your vision and agenda, especially on education. I am ready to take on my responsibility to change the narrative and image of Sierra Leone”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry