Days 9 and 10 | 24 Hours in Paris

We were faced with quite a dilemma as Day 9 began. There had been miscommunication with the airlines regarding our group airline reservations. When initial travel arrangements were made, the summer schedule was in use and the time of our flight back to Paris was 11:59pm.  We were now operating using the winter schedule which made the flight 12:04am the next day.  This meant that there would be nearly 24 hours between our flight from Yaounde to Paris and our flight from Paris to Washington Dulles. I was excited.  It meant that I’d get to spend almost a day in Paris, which is has been something that I always wanted to do. It was two trips in one.

Day 8 | A World Apart - Returning to Bimbia

Day 8 signaled a return to the slave port Bimbia, which is near Limbe, formerly known as Victoria.  I knew returning to the site would be an emotional experience, but I was unprepared for what we saw once we actually got there.

The ARP 2 visit to Bimbia included a slave trade re-enactment and purification ceremony.  During the re-enactment, local dignitaries noted key areas of the port and the fact that an anthropological survey has concluded that dried bananas were used to feed the enslaved that were housed there before their transportation to other countries in Africa, South America, or the United States. Additionally, they said that they’d identified figures that state that as many as 30,000 people moved through Bimbia and were held in 7 different camps there. Avline Ava, president of ARK Jammers, gave an emotional speech about her emotions regarding what had taken place at the site.

Day 7 | The Land Give

 The day had finally come.  It was more than a year in the making. Out of delegation of 87 participating in the ARP 2, there were more than 20 who were making a return trip, in part, to receive titles for 1/4 of an acre that was given during ARP 1. 

The land, which is 5 acres and located in Kribi, was gifted to us by Nathan Simb, a business owner.  Simb had saw coverage about ARP 1 on Cameroonian television and was moved to give the land, free of charge and expectation, to all ARP 1 participants, regardless of a DNA tie to Cameroon. The land ceremony was the first time that most of the ARP 1 participants were able to see their land. Founded in 1889, Kribi is located near the Gulf of Guinea which runs into the Atlantic Ocean.  The original name of Kribi was Kiki Ribby which means little people.

Day 6 | The Spirit and a Musical Healing

By this time during the ARP I, I was exhausted.  The heat combined with mental and physical fatigue had begun to take their toll.  This caused me to miss a church service at Pariosse EPC Djoungolo Berceau Prostestantine dans le Region de Yaounde.  Members of the delegation who attended the ARP I service came back with wonderful words about it.  I made sure that I didn't miss the service this year, and I'm so glad that I didn't.

EPC Djoungolo is a warm, welcoming congregation which features four choirs and at least one set of dancers.  In addition to a rousing sermon on Psalm 30, one of the most significant parts of the service was when one of the choirs sang the U.S. National Anthem.  Many were moved to tears and by the end of the service, nearly everyone agreed that it was a powerful and life changing.

Day 5 | Bonne Anne from Cameroon

Day 5 began with a conference featuring experts on various topics, from linguistic patterns, to infrastructure to DNA.  The program was as follows:

• F. Bingono Bingono, Linguist  - "Some Cultural Aspects: Traditional Communication (The Talking Drum)"
• Jerome Minlend, CEO of CAC International - "How to Create a Business in Cameroon"
• Jean-Emmaneul Pondi, Professor - "A Brief Historical, Political, and Geographical Presentation of Cameroon"
• Rick Kittles, PhD, Co-Founder, African Ancestry, Inc - "The DNA Structure"
• Dominic Ntube, PhD, Professor - "Synergy Between The Cameroon Diaspora in America and the Nation Builders in Cameroon: Wealth Creation"
• Lisa (Asili) Aubrey, PhD - "Slave Trade in Cameroon"

Day 4 | Le Nord es Gorges

 Amazing natural beauty.  Those three words accurately sum up Day 4’s events in the Northern Province and later Cameroon’s capital.

One of the most apparent differences between ARP I and ARP 2 is the fact that land travel has taken place far less frequently.  The delegation traveled more than 800 miles by land at the end of ARP I while land travel did not start until Day 4 of ARP 2.