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14 female entrepreneurs are taking part in a Female Entrepreneur Adventure Expedition and are travelling to Malawi in October 2018 to raise money for 2 local business initiatives. This expedition started as a dream when I was in my 20's and today it has become my reality... all as a result of an unexpected medical diagnosis in my family which made me take action to not live on that 'one day isle' of saying to myself.. One day I will.. For many of us that day might never come and I just say to you.. never let anyone stop you from living your dreams.

This expedition is not only about raising money for local business initiatives. It focuses on raising awareness of mental health, women's rights, education, entrepreneurship, period poverty in Africa. To hear that women are using corn on the cob, leaves or cow dung as menstrual wear in rural parts of Africa because they cannot access proper sanitarywear beggars belief. This expedition is just the beginning of a journey of inspiration which will touch many thousands of people's lives to take action to create hope and a better world for the next generation. Our journey will not stop with the expedition. We will continue to share our message of inspiration, hope and collaboration on our return home.

Our expedition in Africa will be uploaded through photos, vlogs, posts onto our FB page @FEAEMalawi. Fundraising will also continue on our return home. We will share our programme highlights, visits to the AIDS/HIV Centre, village radio, NAYO (youth organisation), Mental Health team, Student support and mentoring group, homestay, Mount Mulanje Climb (physical challenge), Mumbo Island etc.. Follow our journey and see how your contribution, no matter how small, makes a huge difference to this community.

Supporting 2 local business initiatives:

Tina Pads: a social business enterprise set up to provide Malawian girls with packs of reusable sanitary pads. Many Malawians girls are unable to attend schools during their period because of unsanitary facilities and/or not being able to afford proper sanitary products. Tina Pads is a reusable, washable locally sourced alternative that fits in culturally with the materials girls would use at this time of the month and allows them to wash, reuse and keep the set of pads for up to 4 years ensuring they do not miss precious school days each month. Money raised will be used to buy reusable pads from Tina Pads for distribution to a local Street Children Project in Blantyre and further student projects identified by Tina Pads. Please note distribution comes hand in hand with training given by the founder of Tina Pads. Each set of pads cost €10 .

WOLREC: An organisation set up by a group of Malawian female lawyers with the aim to facilitate increased women's and girl's access to justice. WOLREC addresses the problems that women encounter in their social and gender relations, for example gender based violence, HIV Aids and many other issues. This is achieved through gender and human rights sensitization, lobbying and advocacy as well as awareness-raising on cultural and traditional practices that infringe on women's rights. Funds raised will go towards extending their office team and admin facilities to support their work.

The founder of this expedition, Ania Jeffries has teamed up with the Responsible Safari Company (RSC) who will be hosting our stay in Malawi. Here are a few words from RSC:

"We are thrilled to be welcoming this group of ladies to Malawi to use their skills, raise awareness of key women's rights challenges and support women in business through economic empowerment. As with all our expeditions this group will learn the impact of global citizenship firsthand and be part of a form of travel that aims to offer sustainable solutions to poverty, empower the people they meet and gain skills to return to their lives more knowledgeable of global issues facing future generations both in Malawi and beyond.

Our company was set up to ensure the benefits of tourism reach local people. A large part of this is ensuring that any donations or support is done in a sustainable way. We currently have an all Malawian team and have been working within the country for ten years. For every donation or linked support given, our team carry out needs/impact assessments which enable us to advise our guests and partners of the best way to donate, manage any donations made and try where possible to support initiatives that promote empowerment and trade as opposed to direct aid and one off project donations. For further information about our work in Malawi please visit: http://www.responsiblesafaricompany.com/about "

Please help to spread the message by liking, commenting and sharing our page. Your support would be very much appreciated. Many thanks.

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/FEAEMalawi/

Expedition: https://spark.adobe.com/video/59c19ec5-475c-40cd-bc2f-6fb6276f4c0d

To find out more about the Organiser of this Expedition please check out http://www.aniajeffries.com