Tikar Descendent: My First Encounter in the Rainforest with my Ancestral Tribe

From June 25-July 7, 2010 I, Anita Woodley, left Chapel Hill, North Carolina for N'Ditam - Cameroon Africa to meet my maternal ancestral tribe known as the Tikar people of N'Ditam in the Central Rainforest. I am the first African-American of Tikar descendant since enslavement to return to the bush. I was named Princess Bekang meaning “to go and to come back” by Chief N'gandji Seidou of Nditam. In June 2013, I’ll return to the village with our 10-year old son, X-man!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Listen to My Public Radio Interview - Traveling To N'Ditam [Aired 10.18.2010]

Hear all about my Africa trip on WUNC-FM that aired Worldwide!

LISTEN to Anita's story

Playlist Play Download

You'll also hear the story of a Cameroonian Doctor named Dr. Georges Bwelle, who operated on dozens of villagers during my visit. He was honored as a CNN Hero in 2014.

Dr. Georges Bwelle works in Cameroon, West Africa. He has a day job, but on the weekend he heads into the bush with a rented van and medical supplies to do surgeries for people in remote villages. The Story producer Anita “Bekang” Woodley was in Cameroon this past summer, with a tape recorder, looking for her own ancestral village when she happened upon the doctor by chance. Today, we’ll hear Anita’s story of returning to her village, and Dr. Georges' story of bringing health care to rural Africans.