The dream of many people is to travel the world and get to know different cultures. And some have the great objective of visiting all countries.
Robson Jesus (@onegovailonge) has an even more ambitious project: to be the first black man to discover the 196 countries and territories of the world – a number according to the United Nations (UN).
I confess that I was surprised that no other black man had traveled to all the nations, but I did some research and found no records of this feat. If you, dear reader, find something, let the blog know.
Robson plans to start his trip in February 2022 and end it in June 2025.
In 2019, Jessica Nabongo was the subject of many foreign websites for becoming the first black woman to perform the feat. There was, however, a controversy, as Woni Spotts said that she, yes, was the first.
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Son of a single mother and two brothers, I was born and raised on the outskirts of Osasco (SP). I always studied in public school, majored in administration and, with a scholarship, specialized in project management at Mackenzie.
In 2018, I traveled to the United States with the purpose of studying English for a year, but I still didn’t understand so clearly that my passion was to explore new places. I was feeling restless even before the Covid-19 pandemic, and I found myself looking to learn more and more about travel.
I started by researching places, prices and countries, but my biggest surprise was yet to come. At one point, I found myself wondering how many people would have visited all the countries, and that’s when I came across the information that it’s estimated that only 150 people did this. At this point I was already amazed, but to further reinforce this feeling of mine, I discovered that none of these travelers were black!
From this, a chain of questions began to arise in my mind: Why is the number of people who have gone around the world so low? What are the characteristics that bring them all together? Why are none of them black?
After dedicating a few moments of reflection, I started to consider that the lack of opportunity caused by structural racism could be among the main reasons for us to see this reality in which black people are less able.
However, reaching this conclusion was not enough for me. I found it difficult to sleep because of my indignation, and I only got peace when I decided that I could collaborate to change this scenario.
I determined that I would be the first black man to visit every country in the world, and that I would do so with the aim of taking the empowerment of the black community throughout Brazil. However, for my goal of inspiring other black people to work, I would need to document this trajectory of mine.
It was at this moment that I saw the need to broadcast and share the trip through an Instagram account and my YouTube channel, demonstrating that it is possible for a black person from a poor family to reach historical facts. Furthermore, I consider myself a person with difficulty in speaking in public, so I also want to encourage those who might think that shyness is an obstacle.
What most motivates me to take this journey is to think that I can show everyone the experience of us blacks in each country. So, creating a connection that extends to everything and everyone, this is definitely a project that will contribute to the history of humanity. After all, it is not for nothing that the project will be called “O Nego Vai Fare”.
This name has a strong connection with the history of Rosa Parks, which was responsible for starting the first successful racial movement on American soil. In honor of her, I intend to ride buses in 196 countries, seeking to reinforce the end of racial segregation. It will be a trip in which I will explore cultural diversity, ethnic-racial plurality, and also present what each country has to offer.
One of my first steps to put all this into practice was to interact with people who are references in the subject of travel. I can say that I was successful in contacting Anderson Dias (@196dreams), as he traveled around the world in record time. I shared my purpose with him, and like me he was also amazed by the absence of a traveling black man who had visited every country.
Cautious, he asked me if I was sure about this data and I confirmed that I was. But so that there wasn’t even a shadow of a doubt, he went to his own Instagram account, with 1.3 million followers, and posted three stories about our conversation. Soon after, he joked that we would soon confirm the existence or not of this “vacancy”.
After we received a positive response, Anderson mentioned that he would help me to conquer this unprecedented fact. From there, I started mentoring every 15 days with him, and I was able to create all the planning and get to know some travel strategies.
I also contacted specialist Igor Ivanowsky (@free.igor), one of the biggest digital entrepreneurs in Brazil, who has been traveling the world for six years. He helped me draw up a budget estimated at R$500,000, including tickets, accommodation, food, sights and the costs of social media and travel transmission. I intend to monetize these social networks and also develop digital products, both to help those who like the business and to raise money for the expenses I will have.
It will be a journey with minimalist aspects, that is, few clothes and only a few electronic items. I intend to use the concept of marketing from the heart, because the intention is to share experiences, create chains of good and positively transform all the people who come up on the road, as well as those who will be involved and accompany the project.
The first continent I will visit will be Asia, starting with Japan. Later I will go to countries in Oceania, Africa, Europe, North and Central America, and ending this adventure in South America.
I will stay in each country for around 5-7 days, which will total about three years of travel. The start is scheduled for February 2022, ending in June 2025, and, as it is an unprecedented feat, this project will be registered by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Notice to passengers 1: Here is a list of several black travelers who produce quality content and deserve to be followed
Notice to passengers 2: Os Barros, a black family, told their story and their project to travel by Kombi from Brazil to Hawaii
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