In 2011, 10 King students had the opportunity to travel to Senegal, Africa. The objective of the trip was to expose students to the history of African slaves transported through the middle passage to get a better understanding of their own history and in doing so become more knowledgeable in the connectedness of nations historically, politically, economically, socially and linguistically.
Upon their arrival, they were invited to tea, from the US Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea Bissau Marcia S. B. Bernicat, at her official residence. Students took a boat ride to the island of Goree to visit the original slave island where Africans were held before being shipped off to the Diaspora. They visited the University of Dakar and schools in the rural areas where they donated school supplies that they had collected home before the trip. Students visited numerous markets displaying myriads of local crafts, saw the harvest of the salt from the depth of the Pink lake, enjoyed a 4-wheel drive across the dunes along the Atlantic Ocean, and witnessed the multicolor traditional pirogues of the Mbour fishing village return with their catch at the end of the day. Everywhere they went, they were greeted with warmth and open heart as they were experiencing first hand the Senegalese hospitality.
