Since waving goodbye to the reality show The Real Housewives of Cheshire in January last year, Leanne Brown says she's found her purpose.

Since the cameras stopped rolling for Leanne for the ITVBe docudrama about Cheshire's 'Golden Triangle', the mother-of-three has been on an eye-opening journey - channelling her energies into humanitarian work with the charity One Woman At A Time.

And she says the experience has also opened the eyes of her daughters Halle, 16, Lilia, 12, and Lola, eight to the world.

Leanne, who is married to former Manchester United star Wes Brown, has been working with vulnerable women in India and Africa and has had some 'heartbreaking' and 'humbling' encounters which have made her feel she has found her purpose.

And she says she wants to inspire her daughters to see 'beyond Cheshire' and make them aware of how lucky they are.

Leanne hosts an annual Empowerment Ball, raising thousands to help young girls and women in underdeveloped parts of Kenya to get into education, to save them from arranged marriages and to end the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation.

Leanne and One Woman At A Time founder Jean Anderson

In September Leanne will walk across the Great Wall of China with her eldest daughter Halle.

The pair will walk five hours a day over five days, while camping out on the wall, to raise funds for the charity. They hope to raise £20,000 with the challenge.

Leanne said: "I want to open up their eyes and see what's going on in the world and not just live in a bubble.

"This has hugely opened my eyes and it's important for my girls to be knowledgeable.

"If you're not showing them the way then how can you expect them to listen to you?"

She added: "Having three girls myself I put myself in the position of those girls and was thinking they're the same age as those girls.

"I always had a vision of going to Africa and the opportunity came up in the January.

"By September I was doing the last series of the Real Housewives and it became official."

Leanne in Kenya

Leanne got involved with One Woman At A Time, which is dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged women and girls in parts of Kenya, India and UK, through its founder Jean Anderson.

The retired midwife was Leanne's hypnobirthing teacher when she gave birth to Lola and acted as her mentor during her lowest ebb on the show.

Leanne, who has done various fundraisers including a sky dive and a half marathon, visited India in November 2017 with Jean after Wes was signed to the Indian club Kerala Blasters and she now supports a women's refuge there.

"We help a refuge in India of women and children that have been subject to the most horrendous domestic abuse sometimes with acid and sex trafficking," she said.

Leanne and her daughters Halle, 16, Lilia, 12, and Lola, eight

"Wes got signed to Kerala Blasters and I saw it as a good opportunity to go over and find somewhere that was in need of help, given that India is the most dangerous place to live if you're a woman.

"The visit was an eye opener for me although Kerala is probably the most cleanest and quietest of places in India it was difficult to absorb the the poverty, over-population, the roads, the living conditions.

"It’s heartbreaking seeing babies being used for begging, not knowing if they had been stolen.

"So we decided to help.

"We bought toys as they had nothing and then asked what they would love to do more than anything they said to be taking out for a day to ‘wonderla’ (a water park).

"So when I went out in December myself and my girls went to the water park with them.

Leanne and her husband Wes

"It was so good to see them all enjoying themselves but another huge eye opener for me was the divide between men and women in the pool area and the fact the men had such a large area to bathe and the women and children had a very limited area.

"There were different entrances for men and women."

This was followed by a visit to Kenya in January 2018 which she describes as 'the most incredible and humbling experience' as she learned about the hardships faced by young girls.

"Girls are at risk of FGM from the age of around 12 to 15, mainly when they are sold to marry a man old enough to be their grandfather," she explained.

"The family receive things like money, cows, goats or beer in exchange for their daughters which horrifies me.

Leanne and Jean at her Empowerment Ball

"It is against the law in some parts, and there is more and more resistance to FGM and forced marriage. We have to try and change deep cultural beliefs which isn’t easy.

"They are moulded into robots almost from such a young age. It needs to stop and we will continue to fight for the future of girls and women’s rights now and forever."

Through the charity Leanne has become friends with Khatra Paterson, who as a 10-year-old schoolgirl thought she was going on holiday when she was put on a plane to East Africa. But when she arrived in Djibouti she was pinned down and mutilated.

Survivor Khatra, who went on to have two sons and run her own skincare clinic KP Aesthetics, has since spoken about her ordeal in the hope of helping other sufferers and raise awareness of FGM, which was outlawed in Britain in 1985.

Leanne and her daughters watch a dance about female empowerment performed by the Bella Danza Studios

The ritual, also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision,mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15, has no health benefits, and can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, cysts, infections, complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.

Like most victims, Khatra was forced to undergo FGM with no pain relief or anaesthetic.

"With FGM it's the mental abuse as well as the physical and it's done by the women who love them the most," says Leanne.

"I've always wanted to help others and and it does take a lot of time but I've found my purpose."

The powerful dance was called Let Us Be Heard

Leanne, 43, says she's open to future TV work but says the Real Housewives chapter is firmly closed following bitter rows aired on the show between herself and Dawn Ward.

"I don't believe in regrets and I don't believe in looking back either. Too much has been done and said and I'm not going to put myself through that again," she said.

"You need to attract somebody that encourages you rather than the opposite, as hurtful as that is."

Leanne recently took her daughters to watch a dance about female empowerment performed by the Bella Danza Studios in Macclesfield, which was inspired by One Woman At A Time.

She was deeply moved by their powerful dance, named Let Us Be Heard.

"It was so emotional beautiful and powerful," she said.

Leanne Brown (pictured in red) was part of the Real Housewives of Cheshire since the show started in 2015

"The expression in their faces was incredible and really told the story.

"They are such talented young ladies myself, Jean and all at One Woman At A Time were honoured to have inspired them for the dance."

Leanne is backing Bitesize Battlefield, an obstacle course for children and teens at Macclesfield Rugby Club today and tomorrow, which will raise funds for One Woman At A Time.

For more information about the event visit bitesize-bootcamp.com/battlefield-challenge.

For more information about the charity and to make a donation visit www.onewomanatatime.co.uk