Just before creating a daily life in Dakar, Queen Haynesworth, 42, from Virginia, and Tee Darby, 39, from New Jersey, spent a lot of a long time in company The united states, the place Queen labored in health coverage and Tee for the condition authorities. As a military services baby, Queen has been touring her total existence, whilst Tee, a cruise lover, is similarly nicely-traveled.
In 2017, although investing Christmas and the New 12 months in Senegal, they fell in adore with the state. A year later, they relocated to the West African nation. Immediately after living in Dakar for two many years, the pair opened Sankofa Arms, a boutique condominium group in the heart of the cash town.
“We understood as quickly as we still left that we would be again,” Queen advised Vacation Noire. “We had been greeted with these incredible appreciate, and every single day we witnessed points that broke our hearts huge open in the greatest of approaches. Senegal is so significantly more substantial than the audio and the meals. There are hundreds of miles of coastline and some of the most wonderful water off the shores of Africa, shorelines that can rival the Caribbean. The folks are lovely and they consider so a lot delight in their history and society.”
Sankofa Arms is located in the up-and-coming district of Mamelles, in the shadow of the African Renaissance Monument. The boutique apartment is centrally positioned shut to dining places and nightlife, the stunning scenic shorelines of the African Coast, and just a small trip to downtown Dakar and procuring.
“We established this place with the enable of loved ones and dear close friends that imagine in our mission of creating a gentle landing for both equally individuals that are traveling to Senegal for the initial time, needing some American-fashion convenience, and seasoned vacationers seeking to come to feel at residence in the city of Dakar,” reported Queen.
For her, Dakar provides the likelihood to meet up with beautiful Black individuals that are grounded in who they are and so happy of their heritage, attributes she believes site visitors to the bustling metropolis will appreciate.
“Most Senegalese individuals can convey to you their ancestors’ names going back again around 100 decades. They know themselves. There is so much of our heritage that has been missing to us, thanks to our displacement, so remaining about individuals so rooted in their tradition is inspiring. I imagine that Senegal is as superior an African place as any to expatriate to. It is the unofficial capital of West Africa, and you are going to uncover that it has a burgeoning tech and tourism marketplace.”
She spelled out that the phrase Sankofa in the apartment’s title is a word from the Twi language of Ghana. It refers to “se wo were being fi na wosan kofa a yenki,” which suggests “It is not taboo to go again and fetch what you forgot.”
The symbol in the adinkra alphabet depicts a goose shifting forward though on the lookout back with an egg in its mouth. It symbolizes the value of reaching back again into the earlier to retrieve that which has been lost to bring it forward into the long term.
“Moving to Senegal as Black Individuals is a image of that kind of journey. To me, the title was a excellent way to exhibit our gratitude for staying embraced by Africans and stating our goal for being listed here. Each and every day we professional the magic of the nation.”
Sankofa Arms offers 5 bespoke a few-bedroom, 3-tub flats that have been lovingly made to fix the special issues that new repatriates may perhaps face in their changeover into lifetime in Senegal. Each and every of the apartments will come totally furnished, loaded with artwork, with stocked kitchens.
The walls are protected in Queen’s artwork assortment of the past 20 yrs from all more than the earth. The home furnishings and linens are all hand-picked, right down to the dishes and glassware, with each individual house and depth acquiring been developed by Queen.
“Staying at Sankofa Arms is a curated experience. We believe in planet-class customer company, and we concierge our guest’s trips from airport pickups to ground transportation and excursions by way of our sister business Black Vacation Universe. Lots of of of attendees have never ever been to Africa ahead of and really don’t speak the language, so we go the more mile to make confident they are found, heard, and celebrated. We specifically cater to Solo feminine vacationers, so we want them to usually sense safe to go about the place.”
Black Journey Universe can set up tours of the city of Dakar, as very well as excursions to the Sine-Saloum Islands, baobab forests, lion parks, and many museums all over the huge Dakar location.
“And the foodstuff, which is the very best component! Every restaurant in the metropolis has a big plate of thieboudienne, our most well known dish of jollof rice. There is so a lot to see and do in Senegal that it’s extremely hard to be bored. There are spots where by you can loosen up by the ocean and let your mind and physique to heal, rejuvenating absent from the chaos of the world and concentrating on coming house to you.”
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