In advance of developing a lifetime in Dakar, business partners Queen Haynesworth, 42, from Virginia, and Tee Darby, 39, from New Jersey, used several years in corporate America, where by Queen labored in wellness insurance coverage and Tee for the state government. As a navy youngster, Queen has been touring her whole lifestyle, though Tee, a cruise lover, is equally perfectly-traveled.
In 2017, although spending Christmas and the New 12 months in Senegal, they fell in love with the nation. A calendar year later, they relocated to the West African country. Right after living in Dakar for two years, they opened Sankofa Arms, a boutique apartment neighborhood in the heart of the cash metropolis.
“We realized as soon as we remaining that we would be back again,” Queen explained to Vacation Noire. “We had been greeted with these types of awesome adore, and every single working day we witnessed issues that broke our hearts large open in the ideal of methods. Senegal is so a lot even bigger than the tunes and the food stuff. There are hundreds of miles of coastline and some of the most attractive h2o off the shores of Africa, shorelines that can rival the Caribbean. The people are stunning and they choose so considerably pride in their history and culture.”
Sankofa Arms is found in the up-and-coming district of Mamelles, in the shadow of the African Renaissance Monument. The boutique apartment is centrally positioned close to places to eat and nightlife, the attractive scenic seashores of the African Coast, and just a brief journey to downtown Dakar and searching.
“We produced this place with the support of loved ones and expensive buddies that believe in our mission of producing a delicate landing for each individuals that are traveling to Senegal for the to start with time, needing some American-style convenience, and seasoned tourists wanting to truly feel at household in the city of Dakar,” explained Queen.
For her, Dakar delivers the probability to satisfy gorgeous Black folks that are grounded in who they are and so proud of their history, characteristics she thinks guests to the bustling town will enjoy.
“Most Senegalese people today can inform you their ancestors’ names likely back over 100 yrs. They know them selves. There is so substantially of our background that has been shed to us, because of to our displacement, so currently being all over men and women so rooted in their culture is inspiring. I believe that Senegal is as very good an African nation as any to expatriate to. It’s the unofficial funds of West Africa, and you’ll find that it has a burgeoning tech and tourism industry.”
She explained that the expression Sankofa in the apartment’s title is a term from the Twi language of Ghana. It refers to “se wo have been fi na wosan kofa a yenki,” which indicates “It is not taboo to go back again and fetch what you forgot.”
The symbol in the adinkra alphabet depicts a goose transferring forward though searching again with an egg in its mouth. It symbolizes the value of reaching back into the previous to retrieve that which has been misplaced to deliver it forward into the upcoming.
“Moving to Senegal as Black Americans is a symbol of that type of journey. To me, the name was a perfect way to display our gratitude for remaining embraced by Africans and stating our reason for currently being right here. Every single day we experienced the magic of the state.”
Sankofa Arms boasts five bespoke 3-bed room, 3-bathtub flats that have been lovingly created to resolve the special difficulties that new repatriates may well deal with in their changeover into lifetime in Senegal. Each individual of the residences will come totally furnished, loaded with art, with stocked kitchens.
The partitions are covered in Queen’s artwork assortment of the past 20 decades from all around the earth. The furnishings and linens are all hand-picked, appropriate down to the dishes and glassware, with each and every space and detail possessing been created by Queen.
“Staying at Sankofa Arms is a curated knowledge. We think in entire world-course shopper support, and we concierge our guest’s outings from airport pickups to floor transportation and excursions through our sister corporation Black Journey Universe. Numerous of of guests have hardly ever been to Africa just before and never communicate the language, so we go the extra mile to make sure they are witnessed, read, and celebrated. We specially cater to Solo woman vacationers, so we want them to always truly feel risk-free to go about the country.”
Black Journey Universe can arrange tours of the city of Dakar, as very well as excursions to the Sine-Saloum Islands, baobab forests, lion parks, and several museums throughout the vast Dakar area.
“And the meals, that is the ideal portion! Every single restaurant in the town has a major plate of thieboudienne, our most renowned dish of jollof rice. There is so substantially to see and do in Senegal that it’s difficult to be bored. There are locations wherever you can loosen up by the ocean and permit your head and entire body to mend, rejuvenating absent from the chaos of the globe and focusing on coming property to on your own.”
Linked: Fulfill The Girl Driving Saint-Louis, Senegal’s Au Fil Du Fleuve Guest Home