Jessica Nabongo has lived on four different continents. The 33-year-old Detroit native, who is of Ugandan descent, has always been attracted to different countries and cultures. In late March, she announced she was on a mission to become the first black woman to travel to every country in the world.
Nabongo has visited 106 out of the 195 United Nations member countries, and she aims to complete her 89 remaining visits before she turns 35 on May 15, 2019.
“I want to show that black people travel. I’m representing America and also Uganda," Nabongo told Forbes.
She hopes to show "little black and brown girls around the world to know that they can travel.”
As she prepares for her travels, Nabongo will be putting her full-time job as the founder of travel agency Global Jet Black on pause. Though she will remain the head of the company, she will not be as heavily involved in the company's daily operations. In the meantime, Nabongo will raise an estimated $133,500, which she thinks will be necessary to finish her country visits in the allotted time. To do so, Nabongo started a GoFundMe, where people can show their support.
“People have already been like, 'how can we help, what can we do?’” Nabongo told the publication. “People want to see me win and that has been humbling.”
One of the core components of her journey to make history is to prove Africans can travel and engage with other cultures.
"A lot of people don’t think of Africans as a consumer, they just think charity or baby," Nabongo said. "I want immigration to see, 'hey Ugandans are tourists [too].’”
Forbes reports a highlight of Nabongo's excursions was during her travels to Indonesia. An immigration official asked to take a picture with her because he found her to be strikingly beautiful.
"Those are amazing experiences. There is racism in the world, there just is. That is what history has left us with," said Nabongo. "But throughout my travels I am left with the fact that most people are good.”
