Jess Cleland has been cycling across the West of Africa to raise funds for PAWS R US South Africa, and her crowdfunding campaign has already hit far beyond her target.
At the start of November, Jess Cleland started a trek across West Africa. She started at Senegal and plans to head through Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana by bicycle for 6 weeks. She is doing it to raise funds for the rescue dog charity Paws R Us.
“This is a unique expedition as very few Western cyclists, if any, have ridden through these isolated areas with rural, remote and rough jungle roads and river crossings.”
PAWS R US (SA) is a pro-life animal rescue and re-homing group, and a registered Non-Profit Company. They operate in the companion animal welfare sector in South Africa and focus specifically on the rescue, shelter, networking and re-homing of rescue dogs. Paws R Us have to raise and generate their own funds every month in order to support approximately 230 rescue dogs currently in their care.
Jess set her crowdfund target to raise R50,000.00 and has hit R71 268.96. The money will be going towards helping PAWS R US with operational costs.
She is currently on day 11 and cycling through Moussayah Forecariah in Guinea. The day before, she cycled through Koba, Guinea and said the day had been a challenging one.
“130km and tougher than it looked on paper, especially with the heat radiating off the passing trucks. But rewarded with the most beautiful campsite of the trip so far – at the base of the Voile de la Mariée waterfall, shaded by one of the biggest bamboo plants I’ve seen in my life.”
The money raised will make a huge difference to the dogs at PAWS. Jess says that every donation that comes in inspires her even more to push forward on the tough days.