(CNN) — When their sister Maria died from breast cancer in 2019, Alicia and Esther Tambe were determined to honor her in a way that would truly encapsulate the person she was.

As they began researching, the pair quickly learned that there was a history of breast cancer in their family and that Black women are disproportionately affected by the disease. In fact, Black women have a 41% higher death rate from breast cancer than White women, according to the American Cancer Society.

The more they researched, the more committed they became to finding an avenue to help support Black women living with breast cancer, as well as as breast cancer survivors, while incorporating one of their late sister’s biggest passions — travel.

In August 2020, they co-founded Fight Through Flights, a non-profit that aims to empower and support the healing of Black women living with breast cancer and those who’ve survived the disease, by providing free wellness retreats, travel experiences and access to resources on mental health, nutrition and fitness.

“We don’t know everything about breast cancer,” Alicia Tambe, who is a lawyer, as well as the founder of travel company Luxe A Travels, tells CNN Travel. “But we do know what made Maria happy and the different ways she coped with different things.”