Oooohhh myyy daayyyyyys, what an experience! VILLAGE LINK UP is the place to be every year, no doubt. The way everything was organised, orchestrated, origanlly aligned, on point, full of love from day one throughout! Can it even be put in comprehensive words?!?! Hahaha let's see... Great vibes, everyone in the group was unique and fitted beautifully to create such an expansive atmosphere, from deep conversations to silly giggles, observations and growth of self to wild expressions through movement, whilst all the while feeling safe, no shame, pure love, pure enjoyment and always returning to peace. How else can I describe this trip without spilling all the details? You got the vibe, emotion and safe structure, your truely looked after.... Activity and adventure-wise was FULL ON with rest of course, but how could you rest, with so much going on!? Excitement was high. However when head hits that pillow, my mind and body knew what time it was. Naps are possible, like a cat I was taking as many as I could! The fooooooooooood! I love food, the food was love, loved, lovely! Yummy yummy for my tummy, there was variety so for everyone elses tummy too! Ok I think I've described more than enough.

What can I say? I'm already plotting and scheming for how I'm going to finance the next one! A life-changing experience, or should I say a series of life-changing experiences carefully curated by Mikel and the team that immersed me in the realness, rawness and oneness of a life in nature. It was all so rich, so vibrant; so much that went into the week I spent in Kilifi on the North East Kenyan coast. The beginning of the week started off with a bang as we partied into 2023 together at the 'Beneath the Baobabs' festival, complete with Mikel's iconic, shut-down Cheza session on the main stage. We connected deeply with each other, to the land and to the people through dance, ritual, the sharing of beautitul locally grown and prepared food, sumptuous smoothies and juices, palm wine, and rich fellowship, sharing our downloads, insights and much of our personal lives as we'd travel around in our dedicated tour van, singing songs and catching the sweetest jokes! Never have I eaten so much delicious fruit which was offered to us in plentiful supply wherever we went. We were taken to the best eateries, met some of the coolest locals who schooled us on the Swahili language, history and a really interesting nature study, where we took part in a knowledge exchange about the benefits of plants we use. We got to chill on Bofa beach on New Years Day, a day when thousands flock to the seaside, we hiked, we cruised down Kilifi Creek under the light of the full moon, we snorkelled, canoed, and zoomed through villages on Boda Boda bikes. The balance between activities and free time/rest was just right providing much needed space to process everything. Because it was a lot- more than can be communicated in a review. Particularly as a person of African ancestry, being re-indigenized in the way that we were on this trip provided the big picture, the roots and context to my own culture, particularly as there were so many echoes to life in the Caribbean and to other indigenous African cultures on the other side of the continent. I can see now how we are truly one is essence, across Africa, apart from linguistic differences and cultural distinctions, whereas before I only knew it in my head. Village Link Up is a medicine that so many of us need, whose connection to the Motherland has been interrupted, after being so far from what is natural to us for so long. I can also see how our African spiritual practice of Cheza Roho is a blessing to the world because it touches humanity on a global level- as our feet pounded the soil without a care, experiencing that Oneness while harmonizing the rhythm with our breath - it was a joy to see that we were surrounded by souls from all continents and races who were also getting their life and their freedom, in our presence. A reminder that everyone wins, when Africans are free. For me it's not a question of 'if' I go back, just 'when' I get to come back home, and how can I steer my highest intentions for service, towards this land again? Thank you so much to Mikel, Abi, Utu and Waroho House for all of it!

Found a new home, a new community of friends and a new love for the Motherland from this trip. Great food, got to see so many wild animals, lots of dancing and made honestly made memories that will last a lifetime. Best Trip of my Life!