Glaswegian Alex O'Kane bought gifts and food for struggling family

Mohamed Radwan feared his two children would have no gifts to open on Christmas morning as they struggle to survive due to the cost-of-living crisis.

We previously told how his family cannot afford to run their heating because of the surge in energy prices and are forced to rely on candles to heat their home, as well as relying on a soup kitchen to feed themselves.

The 40-year-old says he has been barely able to make ends meet on Universal Credit after fleeing war-torn Syria in the hope of starting a better life in Glasgow.

Mohamed and his sons (Image: Supplied)

Mohamed, who is a fully trained pharmacist, is desperate to find employment to provide for his wife Alia and two children Kenan, five, and four-year-old Abdulmalek.

After learning about their heartbreaking situation, Glasgow community activist Alex O’Kane stepped in to help the family by providing £100 to help pay for gifts and food on Christmas Day.

He told the Glasgow Times: “Mohamed is such a humble and caring gentleman and he was facing Christmas without a meal or presents for his kids. As soon as I heard about what they were going through, I knew I had to help.

“This family has gone through an incredibly difficult time over the past few years and they're just trying to do their best for their children. They deserve a good Christmas and Mohamed was almost in tears when he received the donation. The money provided allowed them to heat their home, buy gifts for the kids and have some decent food over the festive period.”

Alex O'Kane (Image: Supplied)

Alex, who runs the community Facebook page No1Seems2care, was able to help hundreds of struggling Glasgow families throughout December. A GoFundMe page he set up raised £1,868, which went towards making Christmas bearable for those in the city living on the breadline.

Alex said: “I was absolutely stunned by the incredible level of support we received. Within a few days, we smashed our original target of £1,500,

“I’ve been overwhelmed by requests for help this year and have been working around the clock to reach as many families as possible. All the money has gone to those in need across Glasgow, along with food parcels to help make the festive period easier.

“For so many Christmas is just an added expense they simply can’t afford. It’s awful that in this day and age folk are still struggling to keep their heads above water.”

Mohamed says the generous donation from Alex helped his family to get through Christmas.

Mohamed and his sons. (Image: Supplied)

He added: “Alex is so generous. He helped to make this difficult time a special one for my family; my sons were so happy to have presents to open.

“I don’t know what we would have done without his help. We’ve been able to top up our electricity and turn our heating on for the first time in so long. It’s a comfort to know people like Alex exist and we just cannot thank him enough for his incredible kindness. I’ll never forget what he has done for my family.”

We previously told how Mohamed has been touched by the kindness Glaswegians have shown since the family arrived in Glasgow.

He added: “It wasn’t safe for my family to stay in Syria. We’ve always been hard-working professionals, I’m a qualified pharmacist and my wife is an English teacher. We both want to start working so that we can give our children the life they deserve, but red tape is making that difficult.

“Right now, it’s a struggle to survive. Once I’ve paid rent, council tax, gas, electricity and other bills, there’s virtually nothing left. We cannot run the heating as it’s just too expensive and we've relied on candles for warmth. It costs £15 every two days to top up the pre-payment meter and we just don’t have that spare.

"People have been so kind and we've had so many offers of help since our story featured in the Glasgow Times."

Mohamed and his family are currently living in temporary accommodation in Broomhill, and staff at Homeless Project Scotland are also helping the family.

Mohamed Radwan at the Homeless Project Scotland charity shop (Image: Newsquest)

Bosses at the charity, which runs a food kitchen, an outreach support arm and supplies over 130,000 meals to the homeless and vulnerable each year, were moved by the family’s story and stepped in to offer fuel vouchers and food.

Mohamed says the organisation has been a lifeline over the last few months, and to thank them for their support, the kind dad is now volunteering his own time at their shop in Govan and their hot meals service for the homeless in Glasgow while he tries to restart his own career.

Just £5 a month can help Homeless Project Scotland continue to offer hot meals, support, hygiene packs and advice to those in need.

Visit homelessprojectscotland.org/donations