Trans-African expedition diary

Similar to opening exam results I received a letter from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust on the morning of the 10th of February. The nerves rose! The news? There is no bad news! We are all delighted! Out of 1072 applications we are one of 107 to have been awarded a 'Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship'.
We have been awarded this fellowship on the merits of our proposed expedition, Driving Home. This living memorial to Sir Winston Churchill operates a travelling fellowship scheme every year, which enables British Citizens from all walks of life to acquire knowledge overseas to the benefit of the Community and Country (www.wcmt.org.uk ).
I am very proud to have been awarded this fellowship and it has made me even more determined to make the most out of this 'Chance of a Lifetime' and to learn and give back as much as I can as a result of this expedition and our objectives.

Expedition Team and Medic

We have had some people apply for the role of the medic and we hope to interview them in April at Stoke Mandeville. Expedition planning continues. Kiko has been working on our contact list through Africa (if anyone has any useful contacts along our route can you please email Kiko, info@drivinghome.co.uk). Woody has been looking into vehicle documentation. Footprint Travel Guides have kindly donated several country guides for along our route, which has really helped Ben and I plan out our contingency route plans.

Expedition Vehicles

We are still trying to find a vehicle sponsor. Although this is in aid of a good cause vehicle manufacturers are bombarded by charitable request, which has made it very difficult to get any vehicles for free.
We can understand this so we believe the best option now is to buy second hand vehicles, recondition the engines and then sell the vehicles on our return (with the proceeds going to our beneficiaries). So much needs to be done but it all depends on us having the vehicles. More progress on this I hope next month.