Thirty Afro-descendants from the United States of America undertook the journey to Cameroon in search of their history and roots, as part of the Ancestry Re-connection Programme.

This programme is initiated by the American NGO African Ancestry, in partnership with the ARK Jammers association. These “Camericans”, as they call themselves, have discovered their Cameroonian ancestry thanks to a DNA test.

Cameroon has a large diaspora of Afro-descendants. More than 8,000 of them have been able to identify their Cameroonian origins through DNA testing, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, famous music producer Quincy Jones, renowned film director Spike Lee and well-known actor Eddy Murphy.

This process, which is very popular in the United States, made it possible to trace their ancestral lineage. They have Bulu, Bamiléké, Tikar, Fulani, Ewondo, Kotoko, Eton, Mafa and Massa origins. The delegation is led by the co-founder and president of the NGO African Ancestry, Gina Paige , whose organisation helps people of African descent trace their ancestral roots back to a specific African country and tribe/ethnic group. Received in audience on 21 March by the Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, these descendants of slaves deported to America expressed their desire to invest in Cameroon, reports the national radio.

This request is in line with the ambitions of the government which wants to create a “powerful development lobby” with its Afro-descendants. In November 2021, the country organised a congress of Afro-descendants and peoples from the Congo Basin with a view to reconnecting them to African realities, but above all to forge partnerships with them in various sectors that will bring economic growth.