Chioma and Oluchi Ogwuegbu are two young Nigerian sisters who have made it their mission to travel across Africa to “celebrate all that is beautiful on the continent, from her peoples to her cultures, languages and religions.” Chioma says it’s been a dream of theirs since childhood to visit all African countries.
“When we
were young, we were always hearing about negative things about the African
continent…so we wanted to find the positive things about Africa and celebrate
it,”’ says Oluchi.
They are calling their journey “Celebrate Africa”
and hope they will help change that negative image of Africa and “encourage
Africans and the world to begin to see the beauty in the continent.”
Their trip started a few months ago. They’ve been
trekking the continent, taking buses and taxis “and donkeys in some places,’”
they say with a hint of amusement. English to Africa reporter Jackson Mvunganyi caught up with them in
Lagos.
After they visit all West African countries, they plan to go to Central and East Africa and southern Africa. In each country they visit, they spend three weeks travelling through the cities and villages, taking in the natural beauty of the country. They also visit tourist sites because, as Chinoma says, “most of these areas are packaged for tourists, we had to see the real picture ourselves.”
So far they say they like what they have seen. They recount tales of kindness by strangers as they traveled through countries like Guinea-Bissau and Ghana. Chioma says she was struck by the beauty of the Burkina Faso Cascades de Karfiguela waterfalls and other natural attractions.
Their relatives and friends were hesitant when the two sisters told them about their mission. “They were scared for us,” Oluchi says. Their friends were also concerned for their safety in the beginning since they were using public means of transportation. “That was dispelled when we actually started travelling and meeting all these nice people,” says Chioma.
The sisters are using personal funds they have been saving since childhood and relying on some of their friends for help.