Testimonials
1st World Family, LLC Web Site
Africa's Number One Touring Service
Journey to the Motherland
Dear Allen,
My journey to the motherland was all that I expected and much more. Choosing to make the trip with 1st World Family Tours was an added blessing. The tour was set up to give you a well rounded view of Africa. My advice to anyone planning a trip to Africa is to be aware of the fact that to some degree your experience will be based on how well you prepare prior to going to Africa. Study as much about the country you plan to visit as possible (the language, the history, the religion etc). Know your own history which would include some knowledge of the middle passage, slavery, jim crow laws etc. Every African descendant should make this pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime. For me it was the first of many more trips to the motherland. Allen the role you played in assisting me with accomplishing such a memorable joyful experience will never be forgotten.
Asante my brother
Newbirth 04/11/00
Journey to the Motherland Tour 1997
by Zelphia Hunter
On February 15, 1997 the Afrikan Poetry Theatre along with the assistance of the 1st World Family of Connecticut bought 56 people to Senegal, West Africa. John Watusi Branch the Executive Director of the Afrikan Poetry Theatre stated "the trip is not a tour or a vacation, it is a homecoming a pilgrimage every African-American should make at least once in their life time".
Connecticut participants included Donald White of Hamden, Ct, Zelphia and Rikkia Hunter of West Haven, Tracy Matted of Hartford, Essie Hayes of Manchester, Jeff Scott of New Britain, Siobhan Trotman of Waterbury, Keba Bosley of New Haven, Cappy and Yazmine Ray of Wolcott, Terry Watkins of Hartford and Allen Stout from Windsor. The Connecticut residents spent a good deal of time with a family in an urban village in Dakar. We ate the traditional way, meaning on the floor sitting around a large platter using our right hands. Before eating everyone participated in a very interesting and thorough hand washing ceremony. Meal times appear to be much longer in Africa than America. There was a lot of laughing and talking. Learning to eat with my hand was a bit difficult at first but my African brothers and sisters were very patient and insisted we experience the traditions of their forefathers.
After dinner many of us thought we were going to be entertained. There was a huge circle of chairs set up in the courtyard. We watched as one of our hosts danced to the rhythms of the drums she and the music became one. Next she called one of her sisters to dance with her. Soon they came to their African American sisters with beautiful material African material in their arms. As the music continued each of us was wrapped with a piece of material. Later we were taught several dance steps before returning to our seats. We were not allowed to sit long because as each of our host entered the circle they bought three or four of us with her. Please do not think the men were left out. They were bought into the circle by our African sisters and drummers also. By the end of the night we were all stepping like we had been doing it allour lives. The dust was flying, arms and legs were skipping to the beat and our voices were loud and joyous. My daughter pulled me aside and said, "Ma, this is just like a block party at home". I smiled and said, "we are home and this is a block party". As we reentered the circle the music washed through me. I stepped back for a moment and looked at my daughter and how easy she moved and blended into the home of her ancestors. I thought about the openness of the people we had met. I thought about the pride I saw in their faces and the desire to share their wealth of history. I thought about these people's nature despite the poverty they lived in. I fell in love with Senegal, her people and ultimately myself.
My Motherland Experience
April 5, 2000
by Jeffrey Scott--1st World Family (FWF) Co-VisionaryWords can never truly express the depth of my experiences in Africa. It is always an overwhelming experience. It is fulfilling spirtually, mentally and physically, it is by far the most healthiest place on earth for black people to exist and to have a peace of mind and absolute unconditional love from another human being. I know we could never find this level of spirtusl peace in any other continent on the planet. These were my most ultimate experiences in my life.
My visists take me to Africa three times, my first time was in February 1997. i had become ill from my malaria pills and despite my physical illenss, spirtually and mentally I had never been better in all my life. I had felt such a spirtual connection, like a nirvana ( perfect harmonious peace) on earth. There was such a sense of inner peace and completeness I had been searching for all my life. It was then that I knew that this is home for me and that by the grace of God I would make my pilgrimage every year until I can gain the resources to settle in the motherland.
Senegal (1997, 1999, 2000)
Senegal was my first entry point into the motherland so Senegal seems to have a special place in my heart. Whether I'm on tour with the 1st World Family or this year being on my own, God has allowed me to always come back to Senegal. Goree island where the slave posts are that points to North America is always the climax of the Senegal trip for me. These visits to Goree Island are a process that all blacks must go through before we understand the history and depth of Africa and it's people. This experience is a rite of passage, or a cleansing. No words can describe the spiritual connection you will feel with all the ancestors whom have passed through this "doorway of no return".
The people of Senegal are beautiful people with various hades of hues like many African countries. They are tall and have a sense of sophistication and a bit of French style about them. Whether you are in Dakar or the village you always feel welcomed like family. Senegal sights are a mixture between Casablanca and the tropical feel of the Carribean. The country lies on the edge of the Sahara and subsahara desert so it offers tropical lush sceneries as well as desert oasis sceneries. With the Atlantic ocean on it's border it was one of the places I could reflect on the past, when I looked out into the ocean. I would often wonder how many of my ancestors died and how many were carried across this wide body of water into slavery.
Gambia (1999)
The people of Gambia are the same as Senegalese people the only thing is that the British carved this trip of land out of Senegal and called it Gambia. So the colonial language is English. Gambia is much more subdued than Senegal or Dakar, but the people are just as friendly as their brothers from the North or South. Gambians have ther own flavor with a bit of British twist to them, it is very much like Jamaica, I guess because they have the same colonial masters. Gambia is a small country very calming yet very charming at the same time. The sights are bea ches, shops, and villages. It is not as metropolitan as Senegal, however, it has a mellow vibe all it's own.
Ghana (2000)
Ghana is one of the warmest and most inviting countries that I have vistied. Ghana has a metropolitan feel along with quant charming feel of Gambia. This also reminds me of Jamaica, from the design of the houses, to how thei children wear their school uniforms, to the market place scenery, to even the way the peole looked, this country was all to familiar to me. I often felt that Jamaica is a microcosm of Ghana. This is a very strong but peaceful nation with one of the richest people and histories in Africa.
Ghana has many different things to do and to see. It ofered a lot of attractions possibly more than Senegal and Gambia Ghana has two Slave castles. Elmina and Cape Coast Castle. These "doorways of no return" are a cleansing experience in your pilgrimage or homage while in Ghana. They allow you to get in touch with your ancestors, and in my opinion, allow you to have a much more purposeful and enriching experience in the motherland.
Ghana has some of the most beautiful resorts I had ever seen in the world. One of the most meaningful attractions to me was seeing the Asante kingdom in Kumasi and to hear how they conquered the British in the 19th century gives you great pride in myself as an African. The Andinkra symbols in the Asante culture is an instrumentart in Ghanian culture and life. These symbols allow you to understand the spirit and psyche of our people through symbols and proverbs.
Ghana is close to the equator so it is predominantly tropical. It has beautiful mountains, rivers, beaches and lush tropical forests. I was truly connected with the scenery of the landscape, fresh air, and the luscious exotic fruits I had on a daily asis. I loved the essence of the Ghana culture and the spirit of Ghanian people. Ghanians as a whole through it's first leader Kwame Nkrumah sees a united Africa This concept is the manifestation of Marcus Garvey's vision of a free and united Africa movement, whom Kwame Nkrumah was a part of while he attended College in the United States. My revolutionary spirit is one with Ghana!
Conclusion
Africa has been a life long dream of mine, it was what I was searching for, before I even knew that I was conscious of it. I have been blessed to travel there with 1st World Family three times. This for me is a pilgrimage, a homage, a spiritual journey that only an African in the diaspora would be able to unerstand. We are the Sankofa people whom must retur and reclaim our heritage before we can move on. This reconnection with the motherland is priceless, just like our ancestors who lost so much during the interruption (slave trade) from their glorious past. "Many are called and chosen are few", and this experience has been the ultimate experience for myself as an African, for my family, and especially for my ancestors. This journey has transformed my soul and has given me a new rebirth, I will never be the same again. My recommendation to our people is that everyone of us should make it a priority to go to the motherland,"Africa".
A Motherland Experience
Reprinted from an article that appeared in "The West Indian American", May, 1999.
By Sharon and Dorrett Huie
The plane touched down around 1 am in Dakar, Senegal and we were in the motherland, AFRICA, home of the beautiful dark skin people of all shades and statute. This was a dream coming through. The trip to Africa went way beyond a celebration of Black History month. It was personal, to learn and relearn our rich history, roots and culture and to reconnect with our people.
There are many who have been fooled into thinking that Africa is an uncivilized place with a bunch of half naked people running around with wild animals. This lie and many others have been perpetuated upon our people in an effort to keep us from knowing the truth about our past, our present and our future. It is not a fantasy or embellishment that we share of a place where everyone is wonderful and where bad things do not happen, that paradise was lost a long time ago. We speak of a real place where human nature is alive and well, where genuine love and compassion is deeply felt, where those who look like us and act like us are as many as the sands on the beaches.
Walking along the streets of Dakar and in the villages of Bakau or Bangul or any other, the words Welcome home my sister became a familiar music to the ear. We felt like the lost children of Africa who had come home to the bosom of our mother. A mother who had yearned so long for her children who had been ripped from her womb and now had escaped and gone back to her. With open arms and only a love that a mother knows she cradled us close to her heart, not wanting to ever let go.
For those of us in the United States of America and the West Indies there was no denying our African heritage, our similarities were too evident. This is our root and culture. The deep spirit of connectedness shows itself in everything. Listening to the conversation of our fellow Africans in their native African tongues soothed our spirits, and though we could not understand, it felt like if we listened long enough we would understand. In their faces we saw our sisters, our brothers, our friends and so many people that we have known.
A visit to Goree Island where our ancestors had been held as slaves and later shipped to the Western World and the Caribbean was deeply emotional, yet enlightening. It was as if our ancestors were calling out to us, telling us their story. We touched the walls on which they cried the floors on which they prayed and the stones on which they died. As Africans from the West Indies we have been fortunate to maintain much of our rich African culture and tradition unlike many of our African American brothers and sisters. From the bright colors of adornment, the spices used for cooking, and the roots used to cure what ails you to the spirited rhythms that reached our bones. Those were all familiar to us.
The tradition of family and togetherness was something to behold. One of our most positive experience was having a meal of Tiebouienne (chey-bou-jen) the national dish of Senegal, consisting of rice and spicy fish with cassava, tamarind and a variety of vegetables; we sat on the floor on large mats and shared large communal plates of delicious food. On that occasion, we ate with our hands and had no qualms about doing so. It was an experience that could only have brought us closer together. Our interactions with the natives of Senegal and Gambia were enriching. In Gambia a very familiar saying Ano problem was a favorite. Everything was Ano problem. We exchanged stories of our lives in Jamaica and America and they shared with us the way of our people. We had discussions on slavery, family, love, war, peace--you name it, and we learned from each other.
Our motherland experience answered many of our questions confirmed many of our thoughts and reaffirmed an unbreakable bond. It drew us closer to nature and ultimately closer to God. It is unfortunate that so many of us have completely lost touch with who we are and where we are going. We have lost our connectedness. Even now after centuries of being consistently stripped and raped of its resources our mother land still has so much more to give. It pained our hearts to see those of European decent coming in and stealing the natural resources and turning it for their gain. We asked, what's happened to us? Why aren't we pooling our resources with our fellow Africans to take back what's rightfully ours? Why are the riches of our land still in the hand of the oppressor? We must search ourselves. African and all of its children throughout the world have so much to give yet only in our unity will we find our true strength.
Even if it takes you several years to save the money and to plan, a trip to the motherland is an experience every person of African decent should welcome. You owe it to yourself, your children and your forefathers to be enriched. The connections must be made; the circle must be complete.
African Journey by Presence
This is an Article about my trip to Africa in March, 2001. May it encourage other Africans in the Diaspora to make the journey home.
When I entered the slave dungeons of Goree Island in Senegal, Africa I was overwhelmed with emotion (Goree Island was a holding cell for Africans that were to be shipped off directly to America or the Caribbean). I shuttered to think of the excruciating encounters my people were subjected to by the hands of their captors. Barely could I comprehend the tortured mindset of those would could see their homeland still insight. Imagine seeing the land where you grew up in the distance with the realization of never being there again. It is an unfathomable thought to many in our generation
When the curator of the dungeon opened the gates to us it was like a "Sankofa" flashback. I prepared myself for the tears that would fall from my cheeks as an expression of the pain and sorrow felt by all Africans in the Diaspora. Oddly enough, I did not feel the upset or anger known to many that had entered the home of the "Door of No Return".
At first I thought something was wrong; had I become so distant with my history that I could not sympathize with the sorrows felt by our people? I knew that wasn't the reason because I felt the effects of their burdens on a daily basis. I couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness because I had defied the plans of the slave masters by journeying back to the location they never intended for me to see again. Our ancestors spirits were to strong to allow those who oppressed us to destroy the connectiveness of our souls. Western civilization tried to erase the memory of my homeland but their poor attempt failed even after all these years. The "Door of No Return" became a place where my ancestors welcomed me with open arms. I knew that by coming to this place I had allowed an ancestor's soul to be peacefully set free. This revelation caused me to see how important it is for others to go to Africa and find their way back home. I also came to Africa with the knowledge of knowing that this place was not where my history began as American education had led me to believe. That helped me to move seasons past Goree Island.
In fact Goree Island was not the highlight of my trip. I really found strength and joy being around my people in everyday situations. There was an ease that I had never felt in Babylon. Any worry I had left back in America was erased. The key word that
permeated through my head during my trip was "family". Everywhere I went I felt like I was a part of the family. It was an experience I had never had before. For example, I was shopping at a bookstore called Timbuktu with Allen and another woman from our trip. This bookstore was better stocked than any black bookstore I've gone to in New England (and I haven't found many). It had a copy of Two Thousand Seasons, which also provided clarity to my journey as an African.
After collecting several books, I went to purchase my items only to realize the owner was gone. I began to scan the room for him and was amazed to see him sitting around a little table eating. Upon closer introspection I realized Allen and the woman with me were eating too. I could only smile and ask to join my family because I was hungry too. What American store you can go into and find anyone stopping their activities to share lunch together? The beauty I found in this bookstore will forever be etched in my memory as a symbol of caring people can be.
Every part of my trip was truly a life altering experience. The people, the food, the land and the culture touched me in ways that I cannot describe in words. The African sun bathed my skin daily with melanin rays of content. You only have to look into my eyes to see Africa within me. It is a misconception to think you have to be in Africa to have it within you. Though I must admit this trip is one of several trips I will take to become more connected to my home.
It is crucial to interject the reality that life was not perfect in Africa. Allen calls it the home of drama however there are some serious issues effecting our people in Africa. Many of them do not realize the extent to which they are effected by White racism. I've never seen so many perms and weaves than I did in Africa. You thought we had a lot of salons in America; you don't have to work in one to do hair in Africa. Many of the youth have also taken on European ways of dressing in attempts to be beautiful when they already are. They need to be educated just as we do about the importance of loving oneself.
Second and more importantly Aids is an issue that can no longer be ignored. The May 2001 issue of Current History reported that "during the past two decades 17 million people have died in Africa due to AIDS-related illnesses. Policies such as blocking the purchasing of cheaper drugs seem to be the norm. We can't expect Colin Powell or Condi Rice to help us. I hope this article inspires others to go to Africa.
[Welcome] [Gallery] [Tours] [Sign Guestbook] [Top]
Copyrights © 2007 www.thomassonsinc.com