These influential women are helping to make conscious choices - for instance working to save women in Africa from female genital mutilation (FGM).
After experiencing burnout, Celia turned her passion into The Wellbeing Farm, an event venue known for its unique charm—including llamas in bow ties.
This B-Corp organisation was formed after Celia suffered burnout. Since then, she has been dedicated to helping other women.
When she met Jean, the founder of the One Woman At A Time Charity, which assists women in Africa in escaping the horrors of FGM she was inspired to become a patron of the charity.
She encourages people to support this remarkable charity on International Women’s Day, aiming to improve the lives of thousands.
Her dedication to this cause deepened after she participated in a 67-km trek along Spain’s Camino de Santiago, where she raised crucial funds for the charity. This trek inspired her to go out herself to witness Jean's work firsthand in Africa and help build a rehabilitation centre for women.
Jean, a former midwife who worked in Uganda, Zambia, and Nigeria, encountered the tragic realities of female genital mutilation during the nineties. This led her to form a charity that has since saved countless girls from the dangers of FGM and forced marriages.
Jean's journey began with a simple introduction, revealing a network of midwives dedicated to combating FGM. Jean recounts meeting a young woman named Margaret in West Pokot, Kenya, whose tragic experience motivated Jean to take action.
"It all began with an introduction,” said Jean: “One of my Hypnobirthing home birthing mothers connected me to a midwife working in Kenya who is doing great work with FGM.
"That simple connection led me to West Pokot, a marginalised county in rural Kenya. It was supposed to be just a few weeks, but it became the start of something much bigger.
“In West Pokot, I met Margaret, a young Pokot woman who had obstetric complications and with no clinic, hospital, midwives or doctors or transport, the tribal birth attendants had no option but to tell her to start walking towards the nearest town.
“In heavy labour she walked 30 kilometres, then another 30 kilometres by motorbike to seek help at a mission hospital.
"Arriving with a ruptured uterus, it was too late to save her child.
"When we met, she was in a terrible condition and couldn’t receive the treatment she needed.
"That night, I made a decision that would change everything. Against the odds, I decided to move Margaret from the hospital and travelled 70 kilometres through the night to transfer her to another facility. Margaret received care, antibiotics, operations and clean sheets and kindness, but three weeks later died. But her death became a call to action—a moment that ignited my resolve.
"We returned to West Pokot to train traditional birth attendants the following year. While there, I discovered that Margaret’s two daughters were at risk of being sold into forced early marriage after undergoing illegal female genital mutilation (FGM). Their father planned to use the bride price to purchase another wife.
"I couldn’t let that happen. I bartered for their safety, giving them sanctuary, education, and hope. This began a journey impacting Margaret’s daughters and an entire community.”
Despite the challenges, Jean’s efforts have protected over 100 girls from illegal FGM and forced marriages. The charity provides them with safety, education, reusable sanitary supplies, and psychological support in areas lacking trauma care. Through One Woman At A Time, Jean's mission empowers girls to gain independence and envision brighter futures. The charity was born from the desire to help individual lives, turning small acts of kindness into a broader movement for change.
“Through the charity One Woman At A Time, we have been able to provide these girls with safety, food, education, reusable sanitary wear, and psychological support in a region where trauma care is non-existent. We’ve established a small library, donated medical equipment, and introduced Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to help with PTSD.
"Our work empowers girls to achieve economic independence and envision futures filled with possibility instead of fear.
"It all started with a moment of defiance. When someone told me, “You can’t help everyone, Jean. This is Africa!” I replied, “I can’t help everyone, but I can help her.”
"From that moment, One Woman At A Time was born—a mission to help one woman, one girl, one life at a time. Now, that mission has touched countless lives."
While she was in Kenya, Celia was inspired to launch her own national Conscious Day, which will be on March 13, to support projects that empower women.
Celia shared, “The idea for Conscious Day came to me while helping the charity One Woman At A Time in Kenya. I realised there was a gap in the market for a day focused on mindfulness and conscious decision-making.”
You can find out more at https://consciousday.co.uk/