Syrian Refugee Boy Gets Lifetime Gym Membership after Photo Goes Viral

A photo of a 12-year-old Syrian refugee gazing at a gym in Turkey went viral in the country in recent days, with widespread reactions of empathy on social networks. The photo shows Mohammed Khaled, who works as a shoe shiner in the southern Adiyaman province, outside the center with a footstool strapped to his back, longingly gazing through the window at the fitness equipment.

After the image went viral, the local gym owner Engin Dogan tracked the boy down and offered him an all-access pass to the facility, The Independent reports.

“A boy, looking through the gym window, wearing slippers in the middle of winter and carrying his backpack. Our aim was to find him and offer him a lifetime membership here. And, we did it. He is one of our members now,” Speaking to Hurriyet News, Dogan said.

Khaled was later pictured working out at the gym and told the Turkish news agency Anadolu he was pleased with the opportunity.

“He found me and helped me,“ Khaled said. “I had always dreamed of losing weight and now I believe I can do that by working out.”

“It affected me very much because we came from nothing and we did not have such a gym in our time. The Turkish people are very sensitive about this issue, I am very touched, I think we are doing something very good,” Mustafa Kucukkaya, one of the gym’s owners, told Turkish newspaper Sabah.

The gym owners have been praised on social media for their good deed. One user wrote on Instagram: “Keep inspiring the world. What goes around comes around.”

Around 3 million Syrian refugees are registered to be living in Turkey, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Courtesy : syrianwarreport