Kiko Matthews: 100 togetHER challenge

You may have read Lucy’s previous blog on charities and noted the incredible challenge which Kiko Matthews is going to attempt in January 2018. In fact, we were so amazed at the enormity of it that we have decided to support her.

In this blog, I will give you a bit of information about what the challenge is, the reason for her taking part in the challenge and what you can do to help, as well as giving a bit of background on Kiko herself.

In 2009, Kiko Matthews was diagnosed with a very rare illness called Cushing’s disease. This not only caused a tumour on her pituitary gland but also created many other life- threatening problems such as diabetes and muscle wasting. She made a remarkable recovery, and eight years on wants to see how she can push her body to the limit.

In January 2018, Kiko Matthews is going to attempt to row across the Atlantic unsupported. Not only does she want to do this, she wants to be the first woman to row the 3,000 miles solo. Her aim is to do it in 45 days, if completed in that time, it would be 11 days quicker than the current world record. She believes that aside from the inevitable physical endurance, which up to a point you can train for, the other challenge faced will be mental. She will have no company for 45 days, and the only garden which she will have is the ocean.

As well as doing this challenge to push herself, she will be helping some really worthy causes at the same time. The three charities she will be supporting are: Kings College Hospital, Women in Sport and the Big Stand.

• King’s are fundraising for a new state of the art intensive care unit that will be built on top of the hospital. They are planning on making a garden that allows for people to use life support machines whilst outside.
• Women in sport are a charity in association with Sport England that research, invest and support women and girls in sport.
• The Big Stand aims to empower with education and inspire through education. It was set up by Kiko and a co- founder Charlie. She is using some of the money donated to help women experience adventures. She is going to work with a group of women, including ex prison ladies to achieve expeditions through mentoring and guidance.

You can see, from the charities which Kiko is supporting that she is passionate about empowering and encouraging women. In return she wants you and I to help empower and encourage her on her way to cross the Atlantic. She has come up with a campaign called 100 togetHER.

100 togetHER  aims to stand for: Challenge, Collaboration and Community. 100TogetHER centered around women, it shows that women can achieve any challenge if we collaborate and support each other within the community. Instead of targeting huge corporate businesses, Kiko is looking for 100 women to fund £1,000 each. A woman does not have to be an individual, it can be a business owner or a group of women collaborating to be one.

By joining 100 togetHER, you will not only be supporting Kiko financially, but also emotionally, as with every form which gets filled out, she asks for a selfie which she will pin in the cabin. As she puts it on her website, ‘most importantly, you will be part of the world record attempt’.

I hope from this short blog, you can see why us at Joyce Guiness are so inspired by Kiko Matthews and the challenge she is attempting. We are so proud to be supporting Kiko, and hope that you have been inspired as well.

To find out more information, visit her website: http://www.kikomatthews.co.uk/the-challenge/