Let us start with these words by Gene Griessman about diversity:  "I believe that diversity is a part of the natural order of things--as natural as the trillion shapes and shades of the flowers of spring or the leaves of autumn. I believe that diversity brings new solutions to an ever-changing environment, and that sameness is not only uninteresting but limiting. To deny diversity is to deny life--with all its richness and manifold opportunities. Thus, I affirm my citizenship in a world of diversity..." 

When A. Tamo Noche, the founder of AfricaQuest was 13 years old, he was given "Black Boy", an autobiography of the African American' author Richard Wright, as a birthday gift from his father. While reading the book, he was inspired by the main character, Richard, a Black American kid growing up in the streets of Memphis TN, in the beginning of the 20th Century. He was immediately captivated by the similarities between the author's life and his own life as a little boy growing up somewhere in Cameroon, West Africa. 

A. Tamo knew that this instant similitude of life and captivation, despite their generational differences, was not just the product of compassion, or a simple affinity with someone of the same age struggling in a hostile set of circumstances.  How was it possible for a young Black boy born in America to know African folk tales and myths in such detail? What else did the author know that was not written in the book? Was this knowledge a product of the author's education, or a psychological impression, retained and revived, a reminiscence of the African culture kept after centuries outside of the African continent? As A. Tamo grew up, his curiosity about Afro-Americans (as they were then called) became even greater. It would be another thirteen years before he would travel to America to meet the African-American people. 

With time, in America, this eagerness was quickly shattered by reality. Indeed, A. Tamo noticed, with disappointment, how unknown the African continent was to the world in general, and to the Africans of the Diaspora in particular. Questions such as" Have you ever been attacked by a lion?" or "How many wild animals did you kill while you were in Africa" or even "Do you have streets and houses like these (reference to the US streets) in Africa?" from African-Americans and people of other races made him realize that the African continent was a mystery to most of the people living in America, and probably on other continents.  

He would come to understand that this lack of knowledge about Africa was just the tip of the iceberg, and that the other reality was far more frightening. What's more, as he came to find out, with this lack of knowledge about Africa came a lack of identity with African values, heritage, folklore, and in tandem with this, the connection that ought to exist between Africa and its sons and daughters living outside of the continent, which has eroded over many centuries, only to become a relic of the past, partly taught in history books and in schools, and partly romanticized by Hollywood in movies such as Shaka Zulu, etc. 

He also noticed that the children of African immigrants born in the United States were slowly but surely loosing their African identity because their parents were not able - for the most part- to finance the almost $2000.00 trip to Africa. With time, Alain understood that his own sons and future grandsons would not be able to benefit from the values that he grew up with in Africa.  

From these findings, he decided to find solutions to solve these problems.   First, having spent a quarter of a century in Africa, and having traveled the entire continent, he knew, like most of the African people living overseas, that the Africa he grew up in was not the miserable and hopeless continent portrayed by the media, and perceived in the streets of America. For that reason, he decided to change this unfair perception of Africa, through simple facts of life, educational programs, and cultural activities with the mission to show the Africa that he knew.  

Africa Quest Inc. has been established with the belief that no one can reach his or her full potential without understanding and accepting their heritage. Africa Quest believes that a human being with no cultural or ancestral identity, with no heritage, lacks the necessary foundation for self-affirmation in the present, and for the same reason, without this indispensable fuel, cannot make constructive projections into the future.

Becoming a good citizen or a good human being cannot be fully achieved unless one's connection to a past, a group, is clearly established. For diversity to have a meaning, "each individual should celebrate his/her originality and uniqueness as a member of a family, a member a specific group, before connecting to everyone's originality and uniqueness".

 Like Gene Griessman, We believe that "To deny diversity is to deny life--with all its richness and manifold opportunities". Thus, Africa Quest affirms its affiliation to a plurial world, a world with as many cultures as the creator has intended.

Welcome to Africa Quest. Please take time to familiarize yourself with the few things that are here, and most importantly, be part of the vision.

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