Jessica Nabongo has a very audacious goal: To be the first Black woman to visit every country in the world!
Her love for travel began at the age of 6, when she first traveled abroad. Since then, this Ugandan-American beauty who is now 34 years old, has lived on four continents in 5 countries, Forbes reports.
She has set a goal for herself to visit every country in the world (the 195 UN member countries and observing states, which includes the Vatican and Palestine) by her 35th birthday on May 29, 2019. So far, she has visited 106 countries, and has 89 more to go.
Jessica, who runs a boutique travel agency called Global Jet Club, admits that although her traveling adventures have been fun so far, it has been exhausting balancing her business with her travel schedule. So she has decided that although the business will still be running, she will need to step back from it’s day-to-day operations (we’re guessing she doesn’t run the company by herself?).
Jessica first made the decision to travel all around the world when she went to Bali, Indonesia over a year ago. Since then, she has paid for her trips with her own money, as well as taking advantage of frequent flyer miles.
To accomplish her goal to travel to every country in the world, she will need about $133,500! In order to fund the rest of her journey, she plans to reach out to brands for sponsorships. She has also created a gofundme page where fans can donate money to help cover her expenses.
“People have already been like, ‘how can we help, what can we do?… People want to see me win and that has been humbling,” she says.
One of Jessica’s main motives for embarking on this journey, is to change the perception that many people of colour have, about travelling. Already, she has received encouraging messages from this audience all over the world, saying that her trips have inspired them to visit countries that they had prevously thought would be unwelcoming.
She also also aims “to show the possibility and let little black and brown girls around the world to know that they can travel.”
Read more about Jessica’s story on Forbes
Photo Credit: Instagram | Jeff Smith Jr.
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