Africa calling.

Centuries ago Africa was forced to dispel its children to what is now the Caribbean. But some daughters of the soil are returning to find welcoming arms and their place in the sun. Five Caribbean women talk to Lisa-Anne Julien about making Africa their home. "Really, Africa is not that far, just look across the Atlantic from the Caribbean. You can almost see it," urges one of the new arrivals.

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Dr Tricia Lawrence-Savane is a student services director and therapist. From Trinidad to Senegal.

Getting to her Catholic secondary school on time every morning was often an uphill battle for Tricia Lawrence. Literally. The school, perched on a 60[degrees]-angle hill, seemed deliberately designed to remind those in mid trod, just how Jesus must have felt carrying his cross on the way to Calvary.

For Tricia, the daughter of a teenage mother from a disadvantaged background, every step up was one step more towards breaking that cycle. Today, Tricia has not only broken the cycle, she has flung its pieces far into the recesses of yesterday, never to haunt her again.

In 2000 Tricia was awarded a Tuner post doctoral fellowship after obtaining her doctorate in psychology in New York, USA. During this time, she met and fell in love with Lamine Savane, a then basketball player. They married in 2000 on Goree Island, off the coast of Lamine's native Senegal, a ceremony which involved libations at the "Door of No Return" (doorway to the ocean where Africans left as slaves never to return). The family settled in New York but when Lamine was offered an opportunity to return to Senegal to launch a sports agency, he enjoyed Tricia's full support and they moved to Dakar in 2004: a move that would probably surprise most people. "Everyone thinks that you have to be certifiable to leave the US to go live in Africa!" Tricia says.

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She quickly got into the rhythm of African life and began to excel; she is currently the student services director at Suffolk University Dakar and also a therapist in private practice.

In addition to this, she is involved in, along with her husband and brother-in-law, a non-profit organisation, XAM XAM (meaning "Knowledge" in Wolof). The initiative is intended to benefit student athletes by providing scholarships and sponsorships.

Apart from battling asthma, Tricia loves the African experience. She also admits that seeing so many people in poverty is difficult to digest but she remains inspired by the Senegalese people, who, she notices, do not hesitate to share what little they have. She has mastered French and Wolof and because of her complexion is often being mistaken for one of the Toukouleur people of northern Senegal. But more than anything else, Tricia enjoys raising her two children, daughter Marcire and son Landing, on the vast landscapes of Senegal.

"They will grow up having known the true Africa, not an Africa as portrayed by the media, but the real thing," she says. "How they feel about Africa and the decisions they make later in life will be highly influenced by this experience."

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Tricia encourages anyone flirting with the idea of migrating to Africa to seriously consider it. "You need to believe in yourself first," she advises. "Get involved by volunteering to work in Africa or find out through your local church if there are any missionary opportunities. Really, it's not that far, just look across the Atlantic from the Caribbean. You can almost see it!"

Shurnell Andersson, a human development practitioner.

From Barbados to South Africa.

Most Caribbean people who emigrated to the UK during the post-war period have comical, albeit painful stories about early life in the "Motherland". There is always talk of harsh winters and sunless summers, racism and cramped quarters. And amid all of this, they would tell you about that "go-to" person--the one who, although he or she was "ketching dey arse" in Britain just as much as anyone else, would be constantly recommended as someone who could hook up newcomers.

Shurnell Anderson sees herself as the new "go-to" person in the "other" Motherland: Africa. And for anyone's information, she is anything but "ketching her arse".

"I open my home to those Caribbean citizens who are brave enough to visit and learn about this wonderful continent and its people," Shurnell says enthusiastically. "Know that you have a family here who will help you settle in and locate your space in Africa."

If there is anyone who can manoeuvre their way around Africa with ease, it's Shurnell. She has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, with the latter being her home for the last 12 years.

Growing up in Barbados, she felt cheated about not being able to fully claim she was an African. She decided from early on that her home would be in Africa but she didn't expect that love would intervene to make it happen.

"I met my husband in Zambia where I went to pursue studies in social work. We moved to Botswana in 1991 and were married there," Shurnell says. "To marry a white-skinned African was very surprising to me."

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Today, the love between husband and wife is as evident as ever and they have four beautiful children. Shurnell is also stepmother to her husband's daughter from his first marriage. Shurnell is currently the programme director and partner of Make a Difference Empowerment Solutions & Services, which offers coaching, training and speaking services related to HIV/Aids, personal transformation, leadership, team building and organisational development. Although in South Africa she is often mistaken for an African-American or someone from another African country, Shurnell has been warmly welcomed and is continually inspired by South Africa and Africa in general.

"When I visited Ghana, I was recognised as 'coming home' and compared to their great female warrior Yaa Asantewaa," she recalls. "Our being here is no accident and should not be seen as 'luck' or just about the opportunity that may have brought us here."

Shurnell believes the Caribbean presence is slowly growing in Africa and with it, the opportunity for both sides to learn about each other. She is enthusiastic about bridging this gap and calls on all Diasporan Africans to come and share in the African experience.

"Follow your heart and listen to the will of God for you," Shurnell advises. "We need to accept that Africa is rising and its people will achieve their greatness. This will happen with or without us so choose to be a part of it rather than on the sidelines looking on."

Penelope Campbell, a specialist on children and Aids.

From Jamaica to Kenya.

Looking at pictures of dreadlocked members of the militant Kikuyu tribe of Kenya at the time of the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s, and then glancing over at a photo of modern-day Jamaican Rastafarians, the only visible differences are the garments worn and some subtle facial features.

Jamaicans in general are largely perceived as a vocal people who stand up for their rights, people in whose veins the blood of the Maroons (runaway slaves who banded together and lived independently in the forests of Jamaica) course through. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that Penelope Campbell, originally from Jamaica, feels thoroughly at home in Nairobi, Kenya.

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She was destined to live in Africa. "Before I was born, my family lived in Uganda in the 1960s," Penelope says. "One of my sisters was born there. I wanted to re-trace their steps to know where they lived."

For the last year, Penelope has been part of a UNICEF team in Nairobi which gives support to 24 country offices in Eastern and Southern Africa, working with children orphaned or made vulnerable by Aids.

At home, she, along with her husband, supports their own three children as they are exposed to the beauties and contradictions of African life. Whilst the rich landscapes and vast expanse of space provide a stimulating environment which the family is thoroughly enjoying, there are class and ethnic divisions in Kenyan society that threaten stability, as seen in the post-election riots of the past two months.

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"It was a challenge getting used to how black people treat other black people here," she says. "Ethnicism is strong and being Kenyan is secondary to one's ethnic group. But I have to demonstrate respect and egalitarian values to all whom I meet; it's important for our children whilst living here to respect and learn these values."

Although Penelope feels strongly connected to Africa, her identity remains firmly Jamaican. She is unapologetically passionate about this. "I identify more with being a black woman, especially a strong Jamaican black woman, than African," she explains. "During the 1970s in Jamaica, there was a lot of social mobilisation promoting black consciousness. That is the era I grew up in and it has had a lot of influence on me."

Although Penelope is often viewed as "Mzungu" (white person), possibly due to her quasi-English accent (she lived in England for 15 years), she is warmly accepted for her Jamaican identity.

"I was surprised at how popular, well respected, Jamaicans appear to be here in Kenya," she says. "Whenever one introduces oneself as Jamaican, there's widespread interest, a very warm welcome reception, and sometimes even applause!"

This has, in some way, reinforced Penelope's pride in being Jamaican and she remains committed to the Caribbean, particularly Jamaican, development. She intends, at some point, to return to Jamaica to live.

"Follow your dream": that's Penelope's anthem. It may sound a cliche to those who have verbally worn out the phrase but never corroborated it with action. But for Penelope, who 14 years ago was a single mother in south London and today is inhaling the wonders of East Africa, anything is possible.

Dr Gillian Marcelle, an international development specialist and strategist.

From Trinidad to South Africa.

There are some people who are simply meant to take certain paths in life; people who, in the dawn of youth, put their dreams out into the universe and then proceeded to work with the universe to realise that dream. Gillian Marcelle, 42, is one such person. "A good friend recently told me that at 16 years old I wrote an essay explaining why I wanted to live in South Africa and how important it was for Caribbean people to have that experience," Gillian says. "I have no memory of it, but it resonates."

What she does remember is the black consciousness atmosphere that pervaded her home as a child, largely due to her father's involvement in "Black power politics" in Trinidad and Tobago.

After completing her MBA in 1987 in the US, Gillian spent the next decade in Europe. During this time, she made her first trip to Africa. "I remember having a sense of throwing off European rules and embracing something completely fresh and novel," she recalls. "That first trip, with just a backpack and no responsibilities still helps me to encounter Africa on its own terms rather than through a Western lens."

After developing a post-graduate course on telecoms policy at a university in London where she was lecturing, Gillian's relationship to Africa became more solid. She was able to test out some of her conceptual ideas shortly after South Africa became a democracy in 1994 and played a role in designing some of the instruments of the early regulatory institutions there.

"I really wanted to see the changes firsthand," Gillian says. "So in 1998, while enrolled for a PhD in the UK, I moved to South Africa. Nearly 10 years later, it feels like home. Dreams can come through, especially if you commit to your intention one day at a time."

Gillian is committed to fostering a positive exchange between the African and Caribbean cultures, her contribution to dispelling the notion of Africa as a "backward" continent.

"There is a lot of ignorance on both sides," she says. "Many of my family members and friends have visited me in Johannesburg and this has helped to provide information about modern day South Africa."

She also suggests that Africa's mystique could be one of its strong points. "Ben Okri has suggested that one of the strengths of African cultures is the lack of duality between the spiritual and material worlds," she says. "Certainly even my most hip South African friends have a daily connection with the mystical world that is quite unusual for a Caribbean sensibility."

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In the past, Gillian has worked as an advisor to the government of Angola and most recently, has been responsible for the management of a private sector development programme in Liberia for the World Bank Group.

"Development challenges in many countries in Africa require passion, commitment, energy and creative vision," she argues. "Many of the existing mechanisms to address these challenges have inherent flaws, including lack of respect for the intended beneficiaries. In my small way, I have been attempting to redress some of these flaws."

Natasha Elva Wanyeki, a social researcher and consultant.

From St Lucia to Kenya.

Natasha Elva Wanyeki's childhood in St Lucia was filled with all things innocent and all things Caribbean; the rolling hills above the meandering rivers which eventually emptied into the emerald waters of the Caribbean, were her playground. Little black girls were dark, fair, brown and all the colours in-between. They had nappy, kinky or wavy hair. No further stratification was necessary; they all belonged to the Caribbean family.

Then Natasha left St Lucia in 1994 for undergraduate study in the UK, and life (and the issue of identity) suddenly became very interesting, albeit a little more complex.

"My linkage to an African identity was developed away from the Caribbean while at university in England and France," Natasha says. "I explored theories of Negritude, Antillanite and Creolite and dived into writers such as Senghor, Rodney, Cesaire and Fanon and started to realise alternatives within my understanding of my identity as a black St Lucian woman."

Natasha, 34, met her Kenyan husband, Ian, while studying in Grenoble, France. They trotted the globe for a few years, taking in South America, England and Canada before deciding in 2002 to move to Kenya.

Although Kenya is many times the size of St Lucia and much more cosmopolitan, the mood, energy and spirit of the country reminds Natasha of home. "I had previously visited Kenya with Ian and liked it very much," she says. "I love the rich, vibrant red of the soil, the beautiful landscapes, the breathtaking Rift Valley and Mombasa."

Natasha's Swahili is now good enough for her to confidently claim to be Kenyan, although this claim is never easily digested by locals, despite their warmth and welcoming gestures. A fact which doesn't bother Natasha too much, as her Caribbean identity is as fierce as it has ever been.

"The longer one stays away, the more important it becomes to link one's identity to the place left," she explains. "And the easier it becomes to forget the reasons for having left; my childhood and early adulthood are constants, reminding me that home is still essentially St Lucia."

When Natasha is not spending quality time with her husband and two young children, Muchemi and Wanjiku, picnicking, camping and exploring the great Kenyan outdoors, she works as a UN consultant principally in planning and conducting research and analysis on the impact of HIV/Aids. She focuses primarily on orphans and vulnerable children.

"This is a very crucial area of development programming for Eastern and southern Africa," Natasha explains. "It becomes increasingly important in the context of HIV/Aids, given its deleterious effect on families." Consulting at this time is convenient for Natasha since she wants to focus on being a mother. "My most notable achievement has been my ability and willingness to suspend full-time work to take care of my two children," she says. "Especially since society judges women poorly if we choose to be employed in the home."

St Lucian, Kenyan, globetrotter, stay-at-home mother, consultant, wife--Natasha has proven that the world is her canvas where she paints her reality the way she likes.