Alex Alfresco

When I was getting ready to travel to Malawi, Africa I had people throwing all kinds of advice at me – what clothing to take, what vaccinations to get, what else to pack. However, the most common piece of advice that I got was to prepare myself emotionally for what I what going to see. People starving, without water or clothes or even a roof above their heads, children begging for money with their stomachs bulging due to the fact that they hadn’t eaten in days, weeks even. These are things that, no matter how hard you try, you cannot prepare yourself for. There were things that I saw in Malawi that I will never forget. It’s one of the reasons that I was so keen to start up my own charity, Maggie’s Beautiful People Project . However, there was one thing that will haunt me for the rest of my life. In every town, every family, no matter where we visited, we were met with more generosity than I have experienced anywhere else. There were people starving, whose children hadn’t eaten in...

Hi! My name is Alex and I am an up-and-coming UK travel and lifestyle blogger writing about my adventures and managing life with multiple chronic illnesses. I initially started my blog after watching videos of Claire Wineland’s speeches. She inspired me and reminded me that my life was more than my disabilities. I have been ill my entire life, and my health will continue to decline. Among other things, I have fibromyalgia, gastroparesis, myalgic encephalomyelitis, depression, and anxiety. These limit my everyday life and I am still learning how to cope with them and still achieve my goals. My first blog at  https://persistingpain.blogspot.com  is where I write about learning to manage my illnesses and about how I try and live as normal a life as possible despite my disabilities. I also started a blog at  https://alexalfresco.blogspot.com  where I document my travel experiences. I have always loved travel and would like to share my passion with othe...