YEAR OF RETURN 2019 – 400 YEARS BACK TO OUR ROOTS TOUR – GHANA, WEST AFRICA

THIS IS GONNA BE EPIC! If you haven’t planned your trip to the “Motherland”, then travel with us. There’s still time to get in on the TRIP OF A LIFETIME! Click on link to get more information: bit.ly/2019ghanatrip

S&M TOURS is proud to once again present and host this trip to Accra, Ghana, West Africa. This will be fun-filled 12 day tour that will take us into 4 different regions in Ghana. This year 2019 marks 400 years when the 1st enslaved African arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, USA. To commemorate the 400 years, the President of Ghana has launched an initiative to welcome all Africans, African Americans and anyone of African decent in the diaspora to come home. Every month in 2019 will be celebrations in Ghana to honor the 400 years. This is the YEAR OF RETURN and your right to return in behalf of our ancestors that were captured and enslaved in the diaspora. Feel free to visit our website: smtours-travelagency.business.site  and                                                          Facebook page: Facebook.com/sandmtours for more information.

LET’S GO TO GHANA! #400years #yearofreturn #yearofreturn2019

I LOVE MY TECH GEAR

CAN WE SAY STABILIZER! Where’s all my LIVE streamers? When I travel and take pictures or record video of beautiful surroundings in Ghana, West Africa, I use cameras, tripods, and other tech gear to help me capture the moment with ease. One of my favorite gadgets is the Phone Tripod Andoer Camera Stabilizer 1/4 Screw Handheld Mini Smartphone Holder. This made recording my travel experiences so much more rewarding! I learned to appreciate this smartphone/camera holder because of how I started.

I remember my arm getting tired and my videos would be shaky and have bad focus because I couldn’t stabilize the camera by my own efforts. Sometimes I travel by myself so there wouldn’t be anyone with me to help record or take pictures. Below is a picture of me on the Labadi Beach in Ghana enjoying the cool waves of the Atlantic Ocean after church service. To learn more about beaches in Ghana, read my previous beach blog.

Take it from me and do yourself a favor and take supporting camera/video gadgets with you so you don’t miss those one-in-a-lifetime picturesque moments.

LAST BATH…Assin Manso Slave River Ghana

On our group’s journey through Ghana, it was recommended that we stop by and tour the Assin Manso “Ancestral” Slave River Park aka the “LAST BATH” in the Donko Nsuo river. We had lots of questions as to why this place was referred to as the “LAST BATH”. We were led by a wonderful director of the park who guided us and gave a vivid depiction of the history of the “LAST BATH”.

It’s so much to recall (keep in mind it was extremely emotional) of the director’s story. In brief, Africans from Northern Ghana were captured as slaves and brought to this river (Donko Nsuo) to be washed and inspected before being sent to nearby slave castles (Elmina and Cape Coast) to later be forced onto slave ships and sent to the Americas and other Caribbean Islands to work as slaves.

Assin Manso is considered a “sacred place of remembrance” and rightfully so. Africans were never seen again after leaving this place and just imagine families being separated FOREVER! Although I’m trying to not cry or become angry while listening to the director’s account of the slave river history, these little guys in the picture above brought welcoming smiles of joy to remind me that we can still pay homage to our ancestors (by returning to Africa) after all our ancestors endured during this horrific experience.

We took a tour through the entire slave rive park down to the river to try and capture  a tiny bit of what it might have felt like for our ancestors to walk to their “LAST BATH”. Just imagined being shackled and being forced to walk to a river and having no clue (let alone speaking the language of their capturers) what is happening. The emotional feelings I’m experiencing reminds me of our tour through the slave castles. I’ll do a separate post for the slave castle tour.

Before we ended our tour of Assin Manso Slave River Park, we were given a quick history lesson about the Assin tribal roots with regards to the chieftaincy tradition and the Paramount stool. This was incredibly interesting to me to learn about the hierarchy of kings in Ghana and how the chieftaincy system works along side Ghana’s democratic government system. I think it’s such an honor that the old chieftaincy tradition is well respected today among Ghanaians.

Add Assin Manso “Ancestral” Slave River Park as a “MUST STOP” on your next trip to Ghana, West Africa!

Don’t Touch My Shea Butter

It’s been a while since I last posted. Why? Because I’ve been collecting all the SHEA BUTTER I can get. I’m in love with this african oil and my entire family uses it faithfully! I tell my family..”don’t touch my SHEA BUTTER”. I first discovered this magnificent creation during my first trip to Ghana in 2012. I met some ladies at the market that were selling SHEA BUTTER and I tried it and fell in love. It’s so smooth and creamy and it melts on contact. You can use it all over your body and hair. It’s better than lotion, which is what I’ve used all my life. Make sure you do your own research before applying the product.SHEA BUTTER (WHITE OR YELLOW)

I was so intrigued by SHEA BUTTER that I decided to do my own research to learn more about how this product is produced. I found a SHEA BUTTER YouTube video documenting the African women’s process from start to finish. This is amazing work from the African women as this labor intensive process takes days to get to the final stage (as seen in the picture above that I took while in Ghana). I’ve come to appreciate the hard work these women put into producing such a valuable product. Shea butter is a major income source for African women across West Africa and these women deserve top dollar for their SHEA BUTTER. Thanks to the African women and to those people who support them in their efforts to provide a high-quality product to consumers.

In my community, I sell SHEA BUTTER in my boutique. You can follow me on my Facebook page to see other items I bring back from Ghana to sell in my boutique @ S&M African Boutique, LLC. I live in the Midwest (Nebraska) and it’s very hard to find authentic African items including SHEA BUTTER. Whatever we do find here is usually not pure SHEA BUTTER and is filtered with other additives/chemicals that is not all-natural. BEWARE of fake imposter SHEA BUTTER!

ENJOY YOUR SHEA BUTTER EXPERIENCE!!!

Back By Popular Demand – BACK TO OUR ROOTS TOUR™ 2016

We are back at it again! YES!! Start making plans to join our 2016 group trip to GHANA, WEST AFRICA! We are excited to offer this trip annually now! We received very powerful and positive responses from our 2015 group of travelers and their testimonies are extremely heart-felt. This trip is for anyone who want to take a journey to the “Motherland” and experience AFRICA for themselves. You will experience an UNFILTERED,  UNREFINED, and AUTHENTIC tour of one the most beautiful countries in AFRICA. We can’t get enough of the warm breezes, comfortable beach hangouts, and mouthwatering African food–not to mention the crazy traffic of what seems to be “organized chaos”. I make fun of the mad traffic but somehow there seems to be very few car accidents.

Come learn more about GHANA and its history, culture, and heritage. Ghanaians are very friendly and proud people and it’s a great feeling to be warmly received where I can truly call “my home”. If you are tracing your roots or want to pay homage to your ancestors, GHANA is a great place to start. Ghana is coined the “gateway” to Africa and you’ll understand why when you visit.

If you are interested in our BACK TO OUR ROOTS TOUR™, please click on the link below to SIGN-UP:

TRIP DATES: December 17-30, 2016

SIGN UP to join this group and you will be contacted with further details.

SIGN UP!!! (click on link below)
https://sandmtours.wufoo.com/forms/back-to-our-roots-tour-ghana-west-africa/

S&M Tours
SandMtours@gmail.com
Facebook.com/SandMtours

twitter.com/followmybraids

402-972-0557

BACK IN GHANA-AKWAABA!!

AKWAABA!! Hey everyone! We had an exciting time in Ghana with our 2015 group! I was so excited to introduce Ghana to 6 ladies during our stay (December 20-31, 2015). We spent 12 days in 4 different regions of Ghana. Our tour guide was amazing. Shout out to Phanerosis Travel & Tour for being such gracious hosts! This is a picture of the group at the Wli Water Falls. Jaw dropping experience! If you are ever in Ghana, Wli Falls is a must see attraction!

Our first hotel accommodation was a beachside resort (African Royal Beach Hotel). Wow!! What a beautiful resort! The African art work was mind blowing! Everyday we woke up to sunshine, warm weather, and a great buffet-style breakfast. This was just what we needed after a long journey from the U.S.  This was just one of the 5 hotels we stayed in because our tour took us to Cape Coast then all the way to Kumasi and then to the Volta Region and then back to Accra, Ghana.

AFRICAN ROYAL BEACH HOTEL – ACCRA, GHANA

You can’t go to Ghana without visiting KAKUM NATIONAL PARK. This is my 2nd visit here and I really enjoyed the 7 bridges of the canopy walk across the forest. I didn’t know that there are only 2 places in all of Africa that have a canopy walk! And Ghana happens to be one! How cool is that! We were even dare devils and took an extra route to the Tree House. Needless to say, we were quite exhausted after walking through this forest for about 3 hours. It was nice to learn about the many different species of animals and learn about the history of this great forest. Check out our adventure of walking on the canopy in the video. Click on the link below. Enjoy!

Kakum National Park

There will be many more posts coming of our journey through Ghana. Until next time, Goodbye!

 

 

 

IN THE NEWS

Hey everyone. My husband and I have been working so hard to share our passion about GHANA that we made the local newspaper! THANK YOU OMAHA WORLD HERALD NEWPAPER for doing an outstanding job covering our story! THANK YOU FRIENDS AND FAMILY for supporting our efforts. Our exposure has increase thanks in part by our journalist Leo A. Biga in Omaha, NE and the media such as Omaha Star Newspaper and Omaha World Herald Newspaper. We are encouraging people to visit Ghana, West Africa to learn about the culture, people, food, history, and trace their family roots! We are excited about our continued efforts in helping the school in Pokuase, Ghana because education is very near and dear to my heart. We will be taking school supplies with us on our upcoming trip to Ghana. If anyone is moved by our efforts to help the school in Pokuase, Ghana, go to our GoFundMe page to donate. Thank you.

The Omaha community is very lucky in that they now have a place they can shop for unique items from Africa. Please visit our S&M African Boutique Facebook page.

Our group trip to Ghana will leave December 20, 2015 for a trip of a life time! The next group trip is scheduled for December 2017. Please visit our BACK TO OUR ROOTS – A JOURNEY TO THE MOTHERLAND facebook page & contact us if you are interested in taking this trip.

Please read the full story/article from Omaha World Herald below:

Omaha World Herald story link

AFRICAN BOUTIQUE – NOW OPEN!!

Talk about a business venture! I’m finally able to turn my passion for Ghana into a business venture! God is good!! Two months ago, my husband and I opened our very own store: S&M African Boutique here in Omaha, NE! We are so excited to be entrepreneurs and serving a need in our community. In our small & intimate store you will find everything from African clothing to jewelry, art, and Shea butter. Most of the items we brought back from Ghana which is how we became inspired to sell because we were accumulating a lot of African items. We plan to travel to Ghana, West Africa this December to get more items to bring back to sell in our boutique.

This is so exciting to be able to bring African items from the MOTHERLAND to the states and sell to people. It’s like were bringing Africa to America! It’s hard to find African items in the USA that reminds our people of home. It’s all about connecting back to our roots. I know these type of African stores are numerous on the east coast USA but very rare in the midwest USA. The most rewarding aspect of this business venture is that we are getting positive feedback from our customers and the community. We’re so blessed to share items from the greatest continent on Earth!!

You will find our boutique on Facebook @ S&M African Boutique.

MEMORIES – GHANA Trip 2011

  I MISS GHANA!! Look what I found in my GHANA archives! It completely slipped my mind that I made this video/slideshow back in 2011 on the Trip Advisor TripWOW website. Recently, I was asked to share stories and pictures of my Ghana trips and thought the best way to accomplish this was to share the link to the video. Voila!! Here it is. I have many more videos to share with you all..stay tuned for more soon!

CLICK ON LINK BELOW:

http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-07e9-4726-850a?ln

BACK TO OUR ROOTS TRIP – GHANA, WEST AFRICA – A Journey To The Motherland

Ever wanted to travel to Africa? Why not start with GHANA? I posed this question to the community I live in and as a result, I’ve got a group of wonderful people traveling with me to Ghana, West Africa in December 2015! I’m so excited to share this incredible LIFETIME experience with people who are interested in exploring this beautiful country!!! This group will embark upon a 10-day tour visiting Accra, the capital of Ghana.

The adventure will begin with traveling to the Volta River while taking in a breath of fresh air at the waterfalls and beaches. We will also travel about 4 hours north of Ghana to the infamous Ashanti Kingdom in Kumasi, Ghana.

A glimpse of the itinerary..

DAY 1 – (Evening) ARRIVAL in Kotoka International Airport (Accra, Ghana), Dinner, Orientation, Bedtime

DAY 2 – FREE DAY (leisure on beach front hotel, get caught up with the time zone)

DAY 3 – Accra City Tour (Kwame Nkrumah Monument, historic Jamestown, W.E.B. Du Bois Center, etc.)

DAY 4 – Aburi Gardens & Craft Market, Boti Falls, Bead Factory, Akosombo Dam

DAY 5 – Ashanti Craft Villages, Kumasi Nightlife, Full Moon

DAY 6 – National Cultural Center, Manhyia Palace, Kejetia Market

DAY 7 – Slave Cemetery, Cape Coast Castle, Beach, Cultural Performance

DAY 8 – Kakum National Park, Crocodiles, Stingless Bee

DAY 9 – FREE DAY (leisure on beach front hotel, start packing to return back to the U.S.)

DAY 10 – DEPARTURE DAY (last minute souvenir shopping, take in last Ghanaian meal)

As you can see, we have a lot to take in and experience. The highlight of the trip will be visiting Cape Coast Castle, one of the former slave castles where thousands of African men and women were detained and shipped to the Americas and Caribbean. I last visited the Elmina slave castle in 2011, and I must say, the tour placed an emotional feeling on my heart that was indescribable and changed my life forever!

My wish is for the group to have an open mind about visiting Ghana and Africa. The goal is to dismiss the negativity that many Americans have about Africa. American TV is so censored that many of the views of Africa are images of poverty, sickness, and desperation. Africa is so much more than that!! Ghana sits on the coastline of the Atlantic ocean where there are miles and miles of stunning beaches. I’m going for the beaches!!

7 BEST BEACHES IN GHANA

1. Labadi Beach

2. Adi Beach

3. Kokrobite Beach (Rastafarians Paradise)

4. Busua Beach

5. Cocoloca Beach

6. Elmina Beaches

7. Fete Beach

I will encourage the group to take lots of pictures and share their experience with friends and family. It’s time for Africa to become the TOP vacation destination! I’ve observed many advertisements of places to visit and Africa is hardly ever at the top of the list. It’s time for people to discover and experience the richness of AFRICA!!

click to SIGN UP for trip