The Return Project!

Hi we at The Return Project are fundraising for our Youth Empowerment Program's workshops and International Study Visit.

The Return project is a collaboration between four organisations, all sharing a common goal with regards to “Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders” Our intent is to expose Merseyside Youth of African descent to opportunities that will allow them to become Global Citizens understanding and appreciating business, cultural and social differences throughout the world. The return project offers educational travel for youth and students globally – with an emphasis on experiential education and cultural immersion.

Queen Nyabinghi Eco Tours based in Africa is an educational / heritage tour company which incorporates aspects of culture, music and arts in our service provision.

We have understood that Youth Empowerment Programs (YEPs) build on young people's strengths and engage them in decision making—They have gained global attention as a strategy to improve a range of emotional, social, and behavioural outcomes. Our YEP will be a platform for the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs of young people of African birth and African descent and provide them with an enabling environment and life changing experiences in reconnecting with African history and culture. Our program will edify black youth with regards to their heritage and identity, as a result help them to grow, develop and elevate their self esteem. The program will be more than just a travel opportunity for Black and brown teens. The young people must complete a range of workshops before they travel including co-creating the project.

They are required to learn about history, politics, social justice and culture, centreing their voices in a decolonized framework. The young people that travel with us will take what they’ve learned from the program and apply it to their education, careers, and work within the community. Racism and the legacy of colonialism and Imperialism are global, so it’s important that when fighting racism at home and abroad we are looking at things from a comprehensive and systemic point of view.

Our initial phase will be on bringing a group of UK youths young men and women 18-30yrs to explore nature, urban & rural life and experience the culture.

The group will have 4-6 chaperones, and will be exposed to a variety of challenges that they are unlikely to have faced at home, developing the resilience needed to overcome them.

Our trip will focus on visiting selected villages that have a strong partnership in offering tourists an authentic experience into participating in their daily lives. Designed and hosted by artisans and artists, the Experience Days are a wonderful way to get a taste of the beauty and rigour of rural life and culture. We shall also learn of the history of the region, pre and post colonial. There will also be touring and trekking activities including primate, safari and biking.