About

A millionaire lives undercover in a deprived part of the UK for a number of days, moonlighting as an unemployed job-seeker whilst s/he seeks people she can help with his/her fortune.

The episode in question featured a Scottish female entrepreneur called Jennifer Cheyne living in Wales and posing as a hair dresser. Cheyne had built up a multi-million pound hair dressing empire from a £2000 loan from her father.

Whilst in Wales, Jennifer volunteered at charities helping the families of victims of cancer and a support network for people caring for people suffering from Alzheimer’s.

The hour long programme charted her success, with the ups and downs of living with a secret identity contrasted with the very desperate physical and emotional stress of the suffering of the real people she encountered.

Chi-chi was moved to tears by the programme having returned from her grandmother’s funeral in Nigeria less than two months before. Her grandmother died from health complications arising from Alzheimer’s Disease.

Whilst browsing through a local Manchester entertainment magazine called The Scene (published by Concept Publishing) after the programme ended, she spotted a challenge at the end of an article about the New 7 Wonders of the world.

“You’d either be very crazy or very rich to attempt to see all 7 new wonders in one two week trip…”

Somehow Chi-chi misread the end of the statement and decided to take on the challenge of seeing all 7 new wonders in a one week trip.

And 7wondersin7days.com was born.

Inspired in part by Paul Smith’s Twitchhiker project in which he travelled half way across the globe relying on the goodwill of Twitterers, Chi-chi aims to travel to see the 7 new wonders of the world in 7 days from 7th July 2011 (7/7/11), raising £777,000 for 7 charities.

The 7 charities being supported by 7 Wonders in 7 Days are Alzheimer’s Research Trust (now Alzheimer’s Research UK), Diabetes UK, Open Doors, Comic Relief through support of Sport Relief, Feed the Minds, YoungMinds and Victory Outreach Manchester.

The plan is to use this trip to raise the profile of a foundation for education dedicated to the memory of her amazing grandmother which she is starting with her parents.

The Jessie Ekweozor Memorial Foundation is being created to do charitable work with disadvantaged young people both in the UK and in the Nigerian village where her grandmother lived most of her life.

In helping the 7 charities she is fundraising for through 7 wonders in 7 days, Chi-chi hopes to finally do something significant to make a difference to the lives of the billions of people around the world living in abject poverty.

The 7 charities involved and some smart companies are helping her make the trip a reality, not just for herself but for 7 lucky people who will each win a 3 day holiday to one of the 7 new wonders of the world by supporting the cause.

From 7/7/11, 6 strangers will join Chi-chi Ekweozor as she embarks on a never-been-done-before trip to see the new 7 wonders of the world in 7 days.

The quest: to raise £777,000 for 7 charities and do something positive to fight global poverty and ill-health.

As she dashes from airport to destination and back, she will meet each one of her 7 travel companions, recruited via Twitter and YouTube and interview them for her daily video blog.

Great Wall of China: Daryl Parson (@HeathenStorm) – Daryl will be traveling to the Great Wall in China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups.

Petra, Jordan: Mike Chirnside (@emptyseas) – Retired Royal Navy officer, Mike has been chosen to explore the enigmatic archeological rock cut architecture of Petra. Completely unknown to the entire Western world before 1812 the rose-red rock city has astounded architects for centuries.

Christ the Redeemer, Rio De Janeiro: Becky Thomson (@instructionsni) – Becky’s dream donation entry – a dreamer for every charity made her a good candidate to see O Cristo Redentor. The statue, one of the largest in the world at 130ft tall, sits atop the Corcovado mountain overlooking the city below.

Taj Mahal, Agra: Karen McNab (@Karen_McNab) – Mum of two, Karen will be heading for India in her trip to one of the most famous and picturesque locations on the planet. The Taj Mahal took over 20 years to build in the memory of the wife of a Mughal emperor. It now attracts more than 3 million visitors a year.

Colosseum, Rome: Daryl Parson (@HeathenStorm) – The most famous and grandest of Rome’s amphitheatres, the Colosseum has recently been threatened with commercialization in order to prevent it from decaying further into ruin. When original travel companion Charles McGill dropped out, Daryl stepped up and agreed to add the Colosseum to his 7 Wonders in 7 Days itinerary. We’re happy to send him to Rome to see it before the ad-men come a calling.

Chichen Itza, Mexico: Daryl Parson (@HeathenStorm) – Daryl stepped in to take on the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza after the original travel companion, Ian Moss dropped out. Known for its famous El Castillo step pyramid, Chichen Itza is home to numerous extraordinarily well-preserved Mayan ruins and is still excavated by archeologists to this day.

Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Peru: Alissa Juvan (@alissajuvan) – Often referred to as the Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu is located 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. We’re hoping, therefore, that Alissa has a real head for heights.