Bradford charity worker Bary Malik is to travel through Africa - all in the name of Winston Churchill.

Mr Malik, 49, pictured, was one of 95 people selected from 1,900 applicants to receive the Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship Award that gives him the opportunity to travel.

Mr Malik - co-ordinator for the Asian Disability Action and Awareness in Bradford (ADAAB) - has chosen to spend up to eight weeks visiting Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as a "pathway to a harmonious and multi-faith society".

Mr Malik said: "I feel so proud. I've been lucky to be selected."

Mr Malik has worked with disabled Asians for four years, helping with work, education, housing and recreation.

"Being disabled is a problem; being disabled and Asian is a much bigger problem," he said.

Mr Malik hopes the trip will give him an opportunity to see how people of different cultures live together without discrimination.

"All faiths and backgrounds have lived in harmony in East Africa for the past 60 years - they celebrate each other's festivals without prejudice," he said.

"What I want to do is research by talking to the indigenous people, immigrants - even tribal groups - to find out what the secret is". I can then write up a report and see how ideas can be implemented into Bradford - why can't we live here in harmony like they do?"

Choosing East Africa as a destination was easy for Mr Malik - he was born in Kenya and lived there as well as Uganda as a child. He moved to Pakistan with his family before being forced out by religious fanatics. "We were part of a minority sect and were the victims of extremists... so I was forced to move," he said.

Arriving in Bradford in 1975, Mr Malik struggled to settle and was told by a driving instructor he should be 'riding camels' instead of being a bus driver. A brief spell in the food trade - owning a restaurant in Keighley and a frozen food producer - ended when Mr Malik was diagnosed with arthritis, but this gave him a new focus.

"I decided to set up ADAAB, because I wanted to give something back to the community," he admitted. "I owe Bradford so much. It gave me all I have now."

For the man who was made a Justice of the Peace in 1987, there is one thing in particular he is looking forward to when he returns to Kenya for the first time since he was ten.

"I want to see where I was born - but I don't know if it will be there still. I always wanted to return but never thought I would."