For the third time sisters Lucy Hobgood-Brown and Anne Zolnor will embark on an 800-kilometre fundraising journey on three vast rivers in the Democratic Republic of Congo to reach the remote village of Lotumbe (where their father was born to educational missionaries and where they spent their own childhood).

The 17-hour trip in a motorized dugout canoe will help raise funds for the rehabilitation of a guesthouse in the village, which will provide adult education classroom facilities and lodging space for short term visitors as well as to buy medical supplies.

Lotumbe is a regional hub in the heart of Congo's rainforest. Accessible only by river or jungle paths, the village is home to a dynamic Congolese women's NGO called Fondation Lucie Otaenga (FLO) that works with a non-profit co-founded by Anne, Lucy and their friend Betsy Brill. HandUp Congo (www.handupcongo.org) collaborates with the grassroots women's NGO on a range of sustainable community development initiatives. These include an experimental vegetable garden, a sewing school and a community loan fund.

The Congo Canoe Challenge is a tribute to the resilient Congolese people, most of whom cover long distances on the river WITHOUT the luxury of a motorized canoe!