 Still on changing the narratives of Mother Africa. We are here in the beautiful Dakar, Senegal. Oh my goodness, I'm loving this place already. Look at the view behind me. This is breathtaking. You know, you can only find this in Africa. I know. Nowhere in the world. Specifically right here. This is my favorite place here in Dakar. Your favorite place in Dakar? Absolutely. How did you discover this place? I discovered it through my friends. They brought me here to play music. We had a big bonfire, like tin African men all singing and dancing and just having a beautiful time is something I've never seen in America. That's part of how I fell in love with this beach. Amazing. But we are not here to talk about this beach. We are here to talk about you. Hey. Who are you? Hey, I'm Maya. You know, I'm also Maya, so nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. Amazing. Maya Gigi Davis. My name is Aya Maya. Yes. You are in Senegal. I am. Your name is Maya. You are in Senegal right now. So Maya in Senegal. But where are you from? I'm originally from, I was born in Indiana, but I lived my past 13 years in New York City. So I'm coming directly from New York City. Harlem. Harlem. Wow. And all the way from New York City, right here in Dakar, Senegal. Yes. It's beautiful. What brought you to Dakar? Wow. That's like a multi-layer answer. But part of that goes with, you know, the fact that I needed something more in life. I needed something that was rewarding. I needed to be using my energy towards something that I felt like was purposeful. My grandmother had passed away. And it was really hard dealing with that. And then six months later, my father passed away. So I thought, what am I doing with my life? So when I'm at the end of that path, I feel fulfilled, you know? Yeah. Africa has always been in my vision. I always had a connection to the continent. So when I reached out to RJ Madi and he offered me a job, I took it. Wow. I'm going to talk to RJ later. He offered you a job. So that means this is what RJ is doing in here. Yes. The Made in Africa project is his company. He's the CEO of that project. It's an amazing project. It has so many different levels to it. I am director of fashion. So I work with all of our online store stuff. But then there's also an investment side of it. There's a real estate side and there's a relocation side. Wow. It's an amazing company. You've been in Senegal for how long? I've been here for four months. For four months? What is that experience like? I mean, it's been overwhelming, you know, to see, you know, because this is a huge city, five million people. And I have, I'm coming from New York City. There's eight million on the island where I live. But I come here and I'm still like overwhelmed with the amount of people, the chaos, the movement of everything. So initially it kind of set me, took me off my, my beaten path a little bit to see like so many people. But it's a beautiful place. The oceans are, it's a peninsula surrounded by the ocean. So I love that about the car. You're not scared of moving to the car? You know, I made the decision and, and I was happy with it. And then like maybe a week, two weeks before I came, my heart started pumping crazy. Are you not really going to do this? A while. So I had a little bit of reservation a little earlier, but I definitely just followed my heart. You know, you followed your heart, but do you regret moving to Seneca? No, not at all. Not at all? No, I don't regret it. There are people out there who are looking for a way to take a step, just like you. They are scared of moving to the car. They are scared of like when they come to Africa, people are not going to like them. When they come to Africa, people are going to defraud them and stuff like that. Sharing your experience to people like that. What are you going to say? I mean, I understand their perspective, especially if they hadn't left their country before, you know, you have to get out of the country to see that people are people everywhere. You know, there's no reason I understand fear and fear can be paralyzing, but you got to sometimes push yourself to try more things, to experience things. And when you get out of the country, you recognize that no, everything's not perfect everywhere, just like it's not where you live. Exactly. But it is acceptable. People are warm. They're welcoming. You know, you'll find your way. I don't speak Wallach. I don't speak French, but I'm making it. I mean, I have a bit of a handicap, but I'm walking. You're African-American. Yes. They're living in Dhaka right now. Do you see yourself different from the local people? I mean, I definitely stand out, but the people are so nice. So, I mean, you know, they're sweet to me. They'll be like, you know, you and me were alike. But let me correct something. You stand out. What makes you stand out? I think because, I mean, it could be many things, even how I tie my scarf. They say the way I tie my scarf is the American way. Or, you know, I'm light-skinned in the sea of beautiful brown-skinned people. Or I don't speak the native language. Or I dress westernized, you know. Like today, I'm mixing the two cultures, but I stand out sometimes. Like I have my ripped jeans on, or my baseball cap. I don't necessarily look like other girls here. That's an amazing experience in here. But before I let it go, there's a beautiful African-American sister out there who is scared to move to Africa. She told me that was a Maya. She told me that was a Maya. I'm really scared of moving to Africa, but if you can find me a beautiful sister to advise me, I'm definitely going to take a step. What are you going to tell that beautiful sister out there? I'm going to say, live your best life. Don't ever be afraid to do anything that's in your heart. I mean, if it's in your heart to move, I'm not going to say just move to move, but you have to be in the vortex. You have to feel it. You have to know that this is where the universe is leading me. And if that is your space, then you should go for it. And you should live it wholeheartedly. Put 100% into it. My sister, if that is your space, then you have to move. Thank you so much. And I'm going to talk to IJ after talking to you. And I know there's a lot IJ has to tell me. Because he brought you to Senegal. What's going on between you and IJ? I'm going to leave that for the viewers to tell me. Enjoy this amazing episode. Don't forget to share to someone. Like and subscribe to your boy Mr. Ghana Baby right here in Dakar, Senegal. Peace out.