By Kofi Annan, Founder and Executive Director, Sankofa Travels with Kofi
What would you show someone who had never visited your community?
Would you photograph your school, a neighborhood gathering place, a favorite local business, or a building whose history deserves more attention? What would you want someone thousands of miles away to understand about the place you call home?
These are the questions our Sankofa Scholars are exploring as they prepare for My City, My Story, a virtual exchange with young people in Ghana on Saturday, October 17.
The idea is straightforward: students use photographs and their own words to introduce their communities to one another. Through those conversations, we want them to learn about life across the African diaspora while looking more closely at the places they already know.
Sankofa Scholars Explore Petersburg’s History and Culture
Our recent experiences in Petersburg have given the Scholars plenty to share. During a walking tour of the city, students explored local history and considered the people and institutions that helped shape their community. Visits to VSU’s Randolph Farm and Truth Village Farm offered opportunities to connect agriculture with food, sustainability, and everyday life. Griffin Lounge helped make that experience possible by providing lunch.
The Scholars also enjoyed Virginia State University’s homecoming parade and football game, with a special welcome from First Lady Dr. Ahkinyala Abdullah. Together, these experiences offer different perspectives on the region: its history, its land, its institutions, and the people who bring it to life.
My City, My Story: Connecting with Young People in Ghana
For the upcoming exchange, students are encouraged to add photographs of their schools and neighborhoods. Those images will help form a “My City, My Story” video to share with their peers in Ghana. Students can explain why they chose each image, what it reveals about their lives, and what a visitor might otherwise miss.
A school photograph might start a conversation about a typical day. A neighborhood garden might lead to questions about food and farming. A familiar street might open a discussion about community, change, or belonging.
We want students on both sides of the Atlantic to have room to ask questions and speak for themselves. There will be similarities, and there will be differences. Learning to listen carefully—and to question assumptions—is part of the experience.
Preserving the Halifax Triangle’s Black History
That same curiosity is shaping the Scholars’ community projects here at home. Through the Halifax Triangle Black History Preservation project, students are preparing to research former businesses and gather stories from people connected to the neighborhood. Their work will combine historical research with oral and video storytelling, with the goal of supporting public recognition of the area’s history.
Community members can help. If you know a former Halifax Triangle business owner, an employee, a relative, or a longtime resident with stories or photographs to share, we would welcome an introduction. Family collections and personal recollections can provide valuable leads for students to investigate.
Across the Scholars program, young people are also developing projects focused on literacy, financial empowerment, mental health, safer routes, and restorative justice. Each offers a chance to practice research, teamwork, communication, and follow-through while contributing to the community.
The Ghana exchange belongs within that larger effort. We want our Scholars to understand where they come from, build relationships beyond their immediate surroundings, and recognize that their observations and ideas have value.
Join the Sankofa Scholars Program
There is still time to join Sankofa Scholars. We welcome families interested in cultural education, community service, leadership development, and connections with young people in Ghana.
Learn more about the Sankofa Scholars program or contact us at kofi@sankofatravelswithkofi.org to ask about enrollment, partnerships, or contributing to the Halifax history project.
We look forward to seeing which stories our students choose to tell—and what they discover when they listen to one another.