Kenya is becoming a hub for Afro-Americans seeking a fresh start. We explore the lives of diaspora returnees finding new roots in Kenya along with the opportunities, and challenges, they encounter along the way.
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00:00We're at one of Nairobi's busiest intersections, Tubman Road,
00:03named after one of the most famous Black Americans in history.
00:06From street signs to matatus,
00:08there are images of Black Americans like me all over Kenya.
00:11But despite our cultural presence,
00:12few people seem to know about who we are and where we come from.
00:15What do you know about Black Americans?
00:17Black Americans?
00:18Yeah.
00:19The most thing we get about Black Americans is that they are violent
00:25and oppressed, maybe.
00:28After telling him that I was African American,
00:30he seemed to change his opinion.
00:32They are more progressive and they are more informed than us.
00:34Them coming here would be another advantage for us, I'd say that.
00:38The mixed messaging made me eager to know more.
00:40Are Black people from the Americas like me truly welcome here?
00:44Do Kenyans know we exist outside of pictures?
00:47To explore these questions, I met with Vanessa.
00:50She arrived in Nairobi a few months ago with Noah, her four-year-old son.
00:55After traveling the world together,
00:57they're now adjusting to life in their luxury apartment.
01:00I cry a lot, if I'm honest with you.
01:02I miss my community, but also I know it's going to take time to adapt
01:06and to build my new community, but I know it's going to happen eventually.
01:10Back in Canada, where she grew up, Vanessa ran a successful business
01:14and was, by all appearances, living the dream.
01:17But she says that dream had limits.
01:19I was just drained.
01:20And when you're drained and you need to go back and take care of your kid
01:23and cook and clean on top of that,
01:25it's too much for the average mom to do that.
01:27Her daily schedule now includes homeschooling Noah.
01:30After, she leaves him with her nanny,
01:33which frees up her time to work on her travel relocation business
01:36and create content with her videographer, Hans.
01:40I never thought I'd meet a Black person here in Kenya,
01:43a foreigner here in Kenya, and make me see the world in a different way.
01:48There are more people like Vanessa and I coming to Kenya.
01:51That's according to Kia Wakesho,
01:53who runs an African-American relocation business.
01:56She offers a fresh start for those who are able to afford it.
02:01We've gotten a lot of retirees and people who own businesses in the States
02:07and have sold their businesses, and so they're living off their residual income.
02:11Kia's services start at 14,500 euros,
02:14nearly a quarter of what the average American takes home yearly.
02:18The wealth is in the difference.
02:21And so, when we're bringing people to Kenya,
02:24we're educating them, we're integrating them versus repatriating,
02:28because you're not repatriating to Kenya, you're not Kenyan, you're American.
02:33Kia's employee, Terry, addresses the concerns that many local young people have
02:37about the impact of these newcomers on jobs and opportunities.
02:41Many of the youths in Kenya don't have work at the moment.
02:45You might feel that when the African-Americans are coming here,
02:49they're going to take your job.
02:50But currently, most people are like,
02:52just come if you're in a position maybe to do an investment,
02:55get some Kenyans to work for you.
02:57Kia's company is optimistic about fostering deeper connections.
03:01To accommodate this, they are hoping to build a 100-unit real estate development
03:04for African-American families in Kalimantanbogo,
03:07located a two-hour drive from Nairobi.
03:10This would not be the first time that Black people from the Americas
03:12have relocated to Africa.
03:14In the 1800s, an organization called the American Colonization Society
03:18moved 16,000 free African-Americans to Liberia.
03:22This gave way to an Americo-Liberian elite
03:25that at times had bad relationships with Native inhabitants.
03:29Now the vision is different.
03:30It's about collaboration and connection.
03:33If done right, it could be a whole new chapter
03:36for the diaspora's return to Africa.