Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. What am I up to this time?…you might wonder! 

Well…this time I'll make my way through the thick jungle of the remote Mentawai island of Indonesia, avoiding snakes, spiders and all sort of creepy crawlers. The ambition is to reach the off the map indigenous Sakkudei tribe, wishing for their hospitality, good omen from the shaman's reading of the chicken liver & to adapt to their way of life (…can't yet imagine how to deal with the sago worms diet!!!). They are also known as "flower people" for their way of decorating themselves with the beautiful hibiscus flowers and tattoos so to please the spirits.

The Mentawai islands were totally isolated from the rest of Sumatra and South East Asia for thousands of years and the inland locals developed a unique micro-society, dedicated to the spirit of the forest and ancestors who fly upon the canope. White and black magic have a daily place in their community. Tabous are numerous, death seen as a malefic and chaotic life for the concerned person. They believe in harmony and animism, respecting everything around themselves and asking permission for their use, from cutting a tree to catching a fish or a monkey.

I can't shout out loud enough that I as well as all my teammates, we are 100% self funded and all the money we receive from your donations will be fully devolved to the charity.

This is my 4th expedition with WOAM to support Women For Women International, an independent humanitarian organisation, that provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.  

Once again I count on your support to give the gift of sisterhood, confidence and hope to women who have nothing left but themselves. Your donation is a solid start to turn their life around. There is no time to wait…the right time was long ago and "now" is the only other option for them to start a dignified life and offer the tools to make it even better by themselves in the near future.

I saw what's possible with my own eyes when I visited WfWI in Rwanda during our last expedition: women broken by poverty, violence, rejection, HIV, were able not only to rebuild their own lives but also to empower other women to do the same. I saw a group of women with their babies strapped around their back making bricks in such a professional way that they could sell them and support their families and communities with the revenues. I saw women with tears in their eyes while proudly telling their story on how they overcame their fear and self doubts and managed to be hired by the Marriot hotel in Kigali, going from being the poorest in their communities to being the ones who could help others in their own villages. 

These women literally broke the ceiling and it wasn't made of crystal, it was made of poverty, brutality, disrespect, hunger and sickness.

Let's keep together the great work going…click on DONATE and help me to overcome my fears for dengue, malaria, snakes, eating worms, nasty bugs and …who knows what else! 😉