A 95-year-old Ghanaian World War Two veteran is to be honoured by Queen Elizabeth for his fundraising efforts.
Private Joseph Hammond walked two miles (3.2km) a day for a week in May, raising $35,000 (£28,000) for frontline health workers and veterans in Africa.
“I was overwhelmed and filled with joy,” he said on hearing he was to get a Commonwealth Point of Light award.
He said he had been inspired by fellow veteran Capt Tom Moore, who raised more than £32m in the UK to fight Covid-19.
Capt Moore completed 100 laps of his garden in the run-up to his 100th birthday in April for NHS charities.
This prompted Pte Hammond to start his own campaign to raise money to buy personal protection equipment (PPE) for health workers and to protect vulnerable veterans on the African continent.
He started each day’s walk in the capital, Accra, early in the morning so he could complete his two miles before the heat and humidity of the day peaked, reports the BBC’s Thomas Naadi.
He wants to raise about $600,000 in total, so the former Ghanaian soldier, who like Capt Moore fought in Burma, hopes donations will continue to be made, our reporter says.
‘He is a force of nature’
Iain Walker, the UK high commissioner to Ghana who joined Pte Hammond on his walk, said the Queen presented Points of Light awards to outstanding volunteers across the Commonwealth who changed the lives of their community.
“Pte Hammond exemplifies these qualities. It has been a privilege to get to know Pte Hammond and to experience his selflessness,” he said.
Earlier this month, he had received a letter from Prince Harry, the Queen’s grandson, commending him on his walk.
I was overwhelmed and filled with joy when I heard I have been chosen to be honoured by Her Majesty the Queen @RoyalFamily possible.â€@forceshelpafri1 @GUBAFOUNDATION @UKinGhana @PHarry_Meghan @scobie #walkwithhammond @TheRCSAfrica @BBCAfrica @walkeriain @CNNAfrica @NAkufoAddo pic.twitter.com/VI0rrAzlzF
— pte.hammond (@pte_hammond) June 19, 2020
Source: bbc.com