[ About ]

■

Afara Journeys—founded by Dr. Keshia Abraham and Gabriel Williams—designs transformative, community-centered travel that blends comfort with learning, creativity, and meaningful philanthropy. We partner with local leaders, elevate lived histories and culture, and create hands-on experiences that invite you to listen, contribute, and connect. Our belief is simple: travel should give as much as it gets—leaving every traveler inspired and every community respected.

A group of Maasai people and children gathered outdoors during the daytime, with a man in traditional Maasai attire shaking hands with a seated man. The scene is vibrant with colorful clothing, jewelry, and a clear blue sky with some clouds in the background.
Two women standing on a dirt path under a large tree with sprawling branches, surrounded by greenery in a sunny outdoor setting. 
[ OUR STORY ]

Intersecting the best of both worlds.

Over seven years, Gabriel Williams built Paint the Globe Foundation into a hands-on engine for creative education and community uplift—funding centers, workshops, and tangible resources alongside local partners. In parallel, Dr. Keshia Abraham led transformative global-learning work—designing programs, retreats, and trainings that center care, cultural integrity, and embodied learning for individuals and institutions around the world.

AFARA Journeys is where those two currents meet: philanthropy you can feel, education that’s lived (not lectured), and travel designed for reciprocity. Together we co-create journeys with local partners, honor heritage through responsible storytelling, and structure each itinerary so travelers support—and learn from—the communities that host them.

Our approach echoes Keshia’s global-learning leadership (rooted in care, justice, and holistic practice) and Gabriel’s build-first impact model, creating experiences that connect curiosity to contribution in a way that’s dignified, joyful, and real.

A large group of people dressed in traditional Maasai attire, with many wearing blue shúkàs, standing and sitting on dry ground outdoors against a partly cloudy sky.
A woman using a traditional mortar and pestle outdoors with a group of people watching and smiling. The scene is set in a garden with trees and a brick building in the background.

What “Afara” Means to Us

In Yoruba, afara means “bridge,” and it also names a West African hardwood—strong, steady, built to last. That’s our blueprint. AFARA Journeys exists to create living bridges: between travelers and local partners, learning and lived experience, curiosity and contribution. We don’t pass through—we connect. Every journey roots into community, honors heritage, and leaves something useful behind.

Those bridges take many forms: a classroom moment that sparks new understanding, an art workshop that nurtures confidence, a supply handoff that meets a real need, a shared meal that turns strangers into neighbors. Education, history, philanthropy, and adventure move together—so you’re never choosing between impact and joy. You cross the bridge changed; the communities we partner with are strengthened too.

Waterfalls cascading over rocky cliffs with a pedestrian bridge and trees with autumn foliage.