Penarth aid worker thanks kind-hearted community after donations helped Moses to walk (From Penarth Times)

Penarth aid worker thanks kind-hearted community after donations helped Moses to walk

4:40pm Thursday 18th October 2012 in News By Robert James Owen

AN aid worker from Penarth has thanked kind-hearted local people who paid for operations to allow a young Kenyan boy to walk.

James Radford, 77, has been raising money for the past 14 years to help homeless children on the streets of Mombasa, and seven years ago he threw a lifeline to five-year-old Moses Juma who was born without kneecaps.

Ten operations later - courtesy of several thousand pounds donated by Mr Radford and the people of Penarth - 12-year-old Moses is able to walk short distances, in what has been described as a ‘miracle’.

He was also presented with a wheelchair by Mr Radford, for use when he needs to rest his legs.

Mr Radford, the former owner of R B Furnishing in Penarth, said: “Moses was destined for a future of begging for a living on the street of Mombasa.

“But thanks to the generosity of the people of Penarth he has been given a new life - a miracle life.

“Without the donations from these kind people, Moses would not have had a chance.

“Every time I visit the family, Moses gives me the biggest hug. He is genuinely the happiest kid alive.”

Aid worker Allison Jauss, who works with Mr Radford, said: "We are all so grateful for the donations to help pay for Moses' treatment.

“I cannot tell you how much the help has been appreciated. The family of Moses are very humble and terribly poor. God bless all who helped."

Great-grandfather Mr Radford has achieved a great deal since his first visit to Africa.

His remarkable efforts include setting up his own orphanage for 22 children; raising £1,200 for a two-year-old born with his feet facing backwards; and donating sewing machines to deprived Kenyan women to set up their own business.

The Redlands Road resident said: “I lived in the bush for three months on my first visit and after I saw the level of poverty, I never looked back. That was the start for me and I have been doing what I can ever since.”

If you would like to donate money towards Mr Radford's charity work, contact him on 029 2063 9900.