HOMECOMING - Returning to Kinshasa

I’m going to try and put in words the feelings I experienced when I received my amazing homecoming in Kinshasa. it’s hard to put in words but I will give it the good ole college try.

I have been sooooo looking forward to coming back home. The only downside of this trip was that I couldn’t share it with my family. Sometimes trip preparation also gets in the way of the excitement. We had to pack for a fashion show, organize items to donate, tighten the super jammed packed schedule ETC. The journey home was long. We flew New York to Paris. After a two hour layover, we flew seven hours to Congo-Brazzaville. From there we had a short flight to Kinshasa.

I have to say I had a wonderful experience on Air France. Even though it was a long journey they made me feel welcomed and cared for during the entire trip. It also really helped that I had great seatmates. On my way to Paris, I met a lady who is starting an NGO. She has such a strong passion to help educate kids in her native Poland and gave them a chance to be their best selves. On my flight from Paris to Brazzaville, I sat next to a Congo Brazzaville businessman. (Just to be clear, there are two Congo's - Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa. The two capitals are the closest capitals in the world; they are only 6 miles apart from each other). The way our conversation started is actually funny. I was so tired from the NYC - Paris flight with the long layover. I slept the first four hours of the flight and afterward started watching the Joker movie. By the way, the movie plays with your head so much. At one point while watching the movie I screamed. My seatmate sat up, looked at my screen and then looked at me. With a confused look on his face, he asked me why am I watching such a sick movie. I started laughing so hard because he was right and that was such an African reaction. We became fast friends! My last seatmate was my shortest. We sat next to each other from Brazzaville to Kinshasa. The flight is only twelve minutes but we were delayed. The people that got on in Brazzaville all knew each other. I was the odd man out, to say the least. My seatmate introduced himself and had everyone else introduce themselves to me. He asked me about my trip to Kinshasa and gave me some really great advice on how to handle certain business aspects.

After we landed I was such in a good mood. it’s so rare to travel such long distances and have a great experience - even with a delay in Brazzaville. Once I got out of customs and got checked for a fever (Coronavirus prevention) I walked out of the arrival halls to greet my cousin. He told me that a few people were excited that I was coming back home and bringing the Adolophine Collection and Les Amis de Mulunda et Georgette to Kinshasa.

When I walked into the arrival hall I could hear people chanting my name. I literally didn’t know what to do. I was actually frozen in fear and my heart was beating fast. I asked my cousin what am I suppose to do and what do I say? When we walked I saw that people made signs, I saw my Congolese brothers and sisters wearing T-shirts with my brand logo and my brand Ambassadors Le Sapeur’s all jumping for joy at my arrival. It was really overwhelming, fulfilling and shocking at the same time. How do you thank people for standing hours to just welcome you and have you feel the love they have for you? I couldn’t stop smiling and my heart was really full. I felt their love and its an experience I will never forget.

Thank you, everyone, for all the preparation, time, effort and love you showed me. It feels so good to be home. There’s no place like HOME. I hope you enjoy the video below.