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Man Replaces Road Sweeper’s Shoes That Were Falling Apart To Show Appreciation For His Hard Work

Man buys new shoes for road sweeper in Puchong


Road sweepers have the important task of helping keep our locales clean and tidy. But their work often goes unnoticed, even though they walk for miles under the hot sun every day to sweep up garbage left behind by litter bugs and more. 

Taking the time to show appreciation for their hard work is this man in Puchong, who noticed a road sweeper’s worn shoes that were falling apart. He replaced them with new ones so that the road sweeper could be comfortable while doing his laborious job.


Appreciation for road sweepers


On 20th June 2021, Affi Ariff took to Facebook to share how he bought new shoes for an uncle who works as a road sweeper in Puchong, after noticing for a long time how badly torn and damaged his shoes were.

Street sweeper new shoes - road cleaner
Image credit: Affi Ariff

Photos that he shared of the uncle’s shoes that had a gaping hole between, shows just how well-worn they were.

Street sweeper new shoes - shoes
Image credit: Affi Ariff

As a way to give back to his community on his birthday, which fell on 20th June, Affi purchased a new pair of sturdy, black shoes for the uncle. He also wanted to show his appreciation for road sweepers.

Street sweeper new shoes - new shoes
Image credit: Affi Ariff

According to Affi, the uncle works from 7AM to 3PM daily. He sweeps and picks up garbage from a stretch of road – from Masjid As-Salam Puchong Perdana to a roundabout in Puchong Permai in Puchong – which is often busy with passing vehicles.

The uncle is also very dedicated to his job. If he wasn’t done clearing up garbage in the morning, Affi said that he would come back later in the day and work overtime to ensure that the road is clear of all the garbage.

Because of this, Affi reminded Malaysians to stop littering and properly dispose their garbage to help ease the burden of road sweepers.

Street sweeper new shoes - road cleaner
Image credit: Affi Ariff

Affi’s Facebook post has since gone viral, with over 1,000 shares and 900 reactions garnered at the time of writing. Many netizens came out to the comment section to applaud him for his random act of kindness.


Road sweeper gets new pair of shoes from helpful Malaysian


Road sweepers have tough jobs that require a lot of walking under the sun. It can be dangerous too, as they’re often working just next to roads busy with vehicles. So we applaud Affi for taking notice of the uncle’s worn shoes, and replacing them with new ones in a small, yet wholesome, act of kindness to make sure that the uncle can be comfortable while working.

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Cover image adapted from: Affi Ariff