Businesswoman Rachel Bedgood rode 1,000 miles in a rickshaw to help disadvantaged girls and women. Rachel is CEO and founder of Complete Background Screening which delivers screening solutions for businesses & organisations to ensure compliance and trust
Successful businesswoman Rachel Bedgood swapped her car for a rickshaw to help disadvantaged girls and women and in doing so helped raise more than £150,000.
Rachel, who is CEO and founder of Complete Background Screening (CBS), joined a rickshaw challenge and travelled 1,000 miles from Chennai to Goa in India in the challenge of her life. The business woman from South Wales admits she was well out of her comfort zone.
“I found it extremely hard. I think everyone did. We completely underestimated the magnitude of the challenge we were taking on!” Rachel said.
“But it was literally blood, sweat, tears, and much much more. We drove over six days, following a two-hour practice session… we weren’t prepared enough.”
The challenge was arranged by the organisation The Sisterhood which was founded almost 20 years ago and raises money for charities supporting women and children. It involves businesswomen from all walks of life committing to a ‘bucket list’ challenge to help those less fortunate. This latest challenge will help fund grassroots projects in Chennai to support local women and girls.
“Some days, my team of three were on the road driving for up to 10 hours in a 30-year-old rickshaw through some of the busiest cities in the world,” Rachel said.
“It was insane! We were literally in survival mode for the majority of it, trying to navigate our way through immense volumes of traffic with no rules. Without those women around me I genuinely don’t think I would have completed it.”
Funds raised will build safe and weather-resistant classrooms, provide young women with skills training, and improve maternal healthcare in the area. All will help break cycles of poverty and provide opportunities for local women and girls.
“During my time in India I got to hang out with so many insanely talented business women where we had time to talk freely about work and life challenges and how to overcome problems in business,” Rachel said.
“There was an array of business sectors and sizes, but we all share the same challenges regardless of how successful we are deemed to be by onlookers.”
The Sisterhood is still accepting donations, visit: https://fundraiser.bhumiusa.org/page/SisterhoodRally2025
Complete Background Screening, established by Rachel in 2005, offers award-winning, accredited DBS checks and pre-employment checking solutions to SMEs and larger organisations throughout the UK. Clients include G4S, the British Heart Foundation, and ITV.
• Image shows Rachel Bedgood (camera right) with Charlotte Leyshon of Lux Family Law and Carmella Carrubba of Real SFX on The Sisterhood’s ‘Sisterhood Rickshaw Rally 2025’ to raise money for disenfranchised young women
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