Paths of return: A special homecoming to Sierra Leone

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In Freetown, Sierra Leone, we join a group of African-Americans who have all taken a DNA test and discovered their ancestors came from this West African country, before they were trafficked to the US and enslaved. Over their two week trip, they explore the bustling city of Freetown - a very different experience to the USA. Yet it has a vibrancy and welcoming spirit which takes the group by surprise. They travel to remote villages where their ancestors may have lived. Here they are each adopted by a local family and given a traditional name according to the ethnic group indicated in their DNA test. We hear from the families about what they are getting out of this unusual partnership. The group take a boat trip to Bunce Island, where they find the ruins of a slave fort where men, women and children were held captive in appalling conditions. Sierra Leoneans were highly skilled at rice cultivation, a talent sought out by plantation owners in South Carolina and Georgia who enslaved Africans to work the land. Sierra Leone was the first African country to grant citizenship based on DNA test results. The group has come hoping to receive citizenship and a passport, but things do not work out as planned. We meet other returnees who have come back to Sierra Leone to make a difference. And the young Sierra Leonan tour guides who are helping the African-Americans to reconnect with their lost history. Producer: Victoria Ferran A Just Radio production for the BBC World Service (Photo: African-Americans travel to Bunce Island, Sierra Leone, and find the ruins of a slave fort. Credit: Sheku Koroma)