FATHER AND SON HONOURED

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Father and son honoured

A father and son have been recognised for their work in the community.

Abdulla Moti, 77, and his 52-year-old son Abdulaziz were presented with honoured citizen awards by Lord Mayor, Abdul Osman, this week.

Abdulla was responsible for setting up Cutchi Sunni Muslim Association in Leicester in 2002, based on a similar organisation he had founded in Nairobi, Kenya.

He said: "At the start, we were concerned with bringing the different parts of the community together – there were a lot of people from Kenya in Leicester."

Originally chairman of the association – a post now held by his son – Abdulla is currently its chief adviser, assistant treasurer and social activities organiser.

He is well known for helping to take elderly members of the association on trips around the country.

Abdulaziz has been involved with a charity raising money for Kosovan and Albanian war victims, providing mosques, education and clinics.

He has helped organise numerous fund-raising events, ranging from football tournaments to fashion shows.

For the past five years, he has been trustee of the madrasa (school) at the Loughborough Road mosque.

This provides Islamic education evening classes for boys and girls, held from 5pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday.

There are currently 380 students registered to take part

Abdulaziz said: "We have segregated classes in the mosque – one upstairs, the other downstairs.

"It helps children understand their heritage and keeps them off the streets."

Aside from his community and charity work, he runs a property business in Leicester and lives off Melton Road.

He and his father maintain a close contact with Kenya, from where Mr Moti senior moved to the UK in 1987.

They are responsible for building a mosque, a hospital, an orphanage and an Islamic studies centre at Mitito Andei, between Nairobi and Mombasa.

The two received their honoured citizen certificates from the Lord Mayor at a ceremony at Leicester Town Hall.

Abdulaziz said: "For me and my dad, receiving this honour is a great achievement.

"The award shows that what we have done for charity and the community is appreciated by those we are working to help."

Coun Osman said: "It was a privilege to speak to these two men and hand over their certificates to them.

"They have done so much for so many people in Kenya, Kosovo and Leicester.

"It shows that there are individuals, often hidden away in the background, who are responsible for quite notable achievements."