Buckingham artist’s wheelchair gift is ‘life changing’ for housebound man in Ghana

A disabled artist from Finmere has transformed the life to a housebound elderly man in Ghana, with the gift of an all-terrain wheelchair.

Artist Keith Jansz paints using his mouth, after a car accident in 1995 left him paralysed from the neck down.

Keith, who is a member of the Mouth & Foot Painting Artists, was approached by a fellow group member, mouth and foot painter Tom Yendell, who is a trustee for The Education And Book Appeal: Ghana (TEABAG), a charity set up to support the education of young people in Ghana.

While in Ghana recently, Tom met 72-year-old De-Graft Abobah, who had lost the use of his legs after contracting polio at the age of eight, leaving him effectively housebound.

Keith said: “Tom called me to ask if I had a wheelchair I would be willing to part with. I had the perfect chair, a Trekinetic, designed and made in Hemel Hempstead, which is ideal for rough terrain.

"My wife spruced it up and pumped the tyres, Tom’s wife Lucy collected it from us, and a Rotary Club friend of Tom’s from Alton in Hampshire took it to Mankoadze village in Ghana, where it was presented to an overwhelmed De-Graft Abobah. It will transform life for him - he said his life has just begun.”

Keith added: “It has all happened in less than three weeks. It has been an emotional journey for all involved and just goes to show what can be done will everyone working together to make something life changing happen.”