A group of 40 African-Americans recently embarked on an emotional two-week journey to Sierra Leone, West Africa, after discovering through DNA testing that their ancestors originated from the country before being trafficked to the United States and enslaved.

During their trip, the group explored the vibrant city of Freetown, offering them a unique cultural experience vastly different from their lives in the US. They also visited remote villages where their ancestors may have once lived.

Each member of the group was adopted by a local family and given a traditional name based on the ethnic group identified in their DNA results.

One of the most poignant moments of the journey was a boat trip to Bunce Island, home to the haunting ruins of a slave fort where men, women, and children were held in appalling conditions before being shipped across the Atlantic.

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Lisa, from San Francisco, expressed the profound connection she felt during the trip, stating, “The feeling is like a déjà vu. I feel closer to the people that I’ve never met than the people I’ve known my whole life.”

For many, the trip was not merely a vacation but a path to reclaim their heritage through citizenship. Sierra Leone made history as the first African country to offer citizenship based on DNA ancestry, inspiring participants like Maureen from Los Angeles.

“I thought that was really a nice way to welcome us home to a land that our sisters were unlucky enough to be stolen from… now, I’m the one to reunite our family to our homeland,” Maureen shared.

The journey also highlighted the stories of other returnees who have come back to Sierra Leone to contribute to its development, further strengthening the bond between the diaspora and their ancestral homeland.