Homeless in Africa

In Africa, there is corruption; there is poverty; there is crime. These are all of the pieces that sell newspapers. Visuals are so continuously displayed on our screens that we become desensitized to reality. Do we even stop to think about the reality of life in a third-world country? Nima Farzaneh dreamt about visiting Africa, not as a tourist in the real sense of the word, but as a participant. Nima, coming from a privileged background in a first-world economy, wanted to...
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In Africa, there is corruption; there is poverty; there is crime. These are all of the pieces that sell newspapers. Visuals are so continuously displayed on our screens that we become desensitized to reality. Do we even stop to think about the reality of life in a third-world country?

Nima Farzaneh dreamt about visiting Africa, not as a tourist in the real sense of the word, but as a participant. Nima, coming from a privileged background in a first-world economy, wanted to feel and experience the life of the impoverished in Africa.

He planned to fly to the furthest point from home and make his way back without spending any money and without flying again.

With a backpack, a violin, an open mind, and loads of courage, Nima started his adventure in April 2017.
He travelled from Canada to Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa. His original plan was to travel South and find a boat or ship to cross the Mozambican Channel to mainland Africa. He quickly discovered that you have to be adaptable and allow plans to change and evolve, sometimes at short notice.

Nima met locals along the way and asked if he could stay with them. He would then totally integrate into their way of life. From farms to ghettos, from slums to yachts.

One plan he quickly had to change was that he would not spend any money. Once truly seeing that a large family living on the $1 per day earned by the breadwinner was what being impoverished meant. Nima then opted to pay for food and other small items needed as a thank you for their kindness shown.

While being poor in every sense of the word, he discovered the richness in their sense of family and community.

This journey took Nima from Madagascar, across the Mozambican Channel to South Africa. He then travelled to Swaziland, before heading back through South Africa to Zimbabwe, the home of the mighty Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls). Hitch-hiking from place to place and staying in villages, he continued to Zambia and onto Tanzania and Kenya. Sleeping in trucks and camping on the Zambezi River.

From Kenya to Ethiopia, and with money now running exceptionally low, Nima had to start teaching to boost funds to continue this epic adventure. Sudan was a short stay due to visa constraints, but this was the first experience of life in an Islamic country. At this point, Nima had travelled to 9 different countries and left his footprints in the homes of 24 different families. Now it was time to head into Egypt.

Egypt came with many challenges, despite which Nima stayed for almost two years before the illness of his parents, and the corona-virus pandemic brought this epic journey to a close in June 2020.

Following Nima's journey, you will find how he explored everything. From religions, churches, languages, foods, cultures, and even to love. If you think that this was a comfortable journey, read further and find out more how this open-minded, kind-hearted Canadian became an African at heart.