Covid-19: Ghanaian World War 2 veteran in virus fundraising

A 95-year-old World War Two veteran from Ghana has set up a challenge of walking two miles a day for a week to raise money for coronavirus charities.

Ex-Private Ashiteye Hammond has embarked on a 14 kilometre walks over seven days aimed at raising 600,000 dollars to support frontline workers and vulnerable African veterans.

“Today is the third one which I have really enjoyed very very much. I will take this opportunity to appeal to all, everybody to rich and poor in Ghana and Africa as whole, to contribute massively to enable our team, our doctors, our nurses and everybody involved to buy their clothing to enable us to address this issue to kick coronavirus away from Africa,” Hammond said.

The ambitious journey begun on Tuesday may 19, 2020, from Osu in Ghana’s capital, Accra.

By Thursday he had completed six kilometres walking between the bloombar and the Danquah circle, through the popular Osu oxford street and back to bloombar.

Hammond reiterated that when he visited Britain in November for the war celebration, he represented 54 nations of the commonwealth, which the queen is the head.

“I saw what colonel Moore did in Britain to help the British people, so I sat quietly and thought why, colonel Moore is a veteran, I also am a veteran from Ghana so I decided to do it to raise fund for the whole of Africa,” he added.

Hammond, was a member of the Gold Coast regiment of the royal west African frontier force, which fought along the British army during the world war II.

He was also one of the former war veterans who were shot at by the British colonial soldier on February 28, 1948, which is now referred to as the 28 February cross road shooting.

The world war II veteran said he is joining the fight to support health workers defeat Covid-19 on the continent.

“We are fighting an invisible war. We went to Burma to fight a physical war where you can see the enemy and plan a strategy how to defeat it. But this one is invisible and so more dangerous. Covid is an enemy but you can’t see it;” Hammond said.

BBC News – Coronavirus in Africa: Ghana WW2 veteran in a Covid-19 fundraiser https://t.co/ei7QoSM257

— Kafui Dey?? (@KafuiDey) May 22, 2020

The money he raises will be used to purchase personal protection equipment (PPE) for Covid-19 front-line workers and vulnerable veterans in Commonwealth countries.