ABOUT I HEART AFRICA PROJECT
A storytelling project born from a lifelong love of Africa.
THE STORY BEHIND THE PROJECT
Africa had been calling to me long before I ever set foot on the continent.
I remember watching The Ghost and the Darkness with my father when I was young and being completely captivated. I was fascinated by the Maasai warriors, their striking red clothing, the dancing, the chanting, the colours and the sheer sense of somewhere so different from anything I had ever known. A few years later, I watched The Air Up There, a fictional basketball film set in Kenya, and once again I found myself drawn into the people, the landscapes, the culture, the music and the colour of Africa.
I didn’t know it then, but somewhere in those early experiences, the seed had been planted.
For years, Africa was a dream.
Then, in 2012, I finally went.
I spent four months travelling around Africa, and by the time I returned to New Zealand, I was not the same person who had left.
The experience had been profoundly life-changing. Africa had filled me with a sense of life, motivation, joy and wonder that I had never experienced before. There was a beauty to it that was difficult to explain to someone who had never been there. I remember putting my feet onto that orange African soil, surrounded by thorn trees, blazing sun and wildlife, and feeling something inside me come alive.
There was a smell to the earth. A rhythm in the air. Something you couldn’t necessarily hear, but could feel.
I felt as though I had left a part of my soul behind.
And then I came home.
As the jet lag eventually faded and everyday life began to resume, I started reflecting on what had happened to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about Africa — the places I had seen, the people I had met, the experiences I had shared and the extraordinary feeling that I had discovered a part of myself there.
But something else began to trouble me.
I started thinking about the stories I had been told before I left.
People had tried to frighten me away from Africa. I had heard the horror stories about crime, violence and all the terrible things that supposedly awaited me. There were warnings about what could happen to me, particularly as a woman travelling alone. Some people spoke about Africa as though danger was waiting around every corner.
Yet I had gone.
I had travelled as a young woman on my own.
And while, of course, bad things happen in Africa — just as they happen everywhere in the world — the Africa I experienced was not the Africa I had been warned about.
It was extraordinary.
It was beautiful.
It was challenging, vibrant, funny, heartbreaking, welcoming and profoundly human.
And I found myself becoming increasingly saddened by the realisation that so many people might never experience it for themselves because of the stories they had been told.
How many people had been frightened away from following their dream of visiting Africa by someone who had never even been there?
How many people had formed their perception of an entire continent from news reports, stereotypes or stories told by someone else?
How many people would never discover the Africa I had fallen so completely in love with?
That question stayed with me.
Because Africa certainly has its problems. There is poverty. There is crime. There is corruption. There is poaching. There are enormous challenges facing communities, wildlife and ecosystems across the continent.
But that isn’t the whole story.
There are also people doing extraordinary things.
There are rangers risking their lives to protect wildlife. Conservationists dedicating their lives to protecting threatened species. Guides who know the land intimately and carry generations of knowledge with them. Researchers, photographers, veterinarians and environmentalists working to make a difference. Communities finding ways to protect their heritage and create better futures. Travellers who have been changed forever by their experiences. People who have fallen so deeply in love with Africa that they have made it their home.
There are stories of courage, humour, resilience, friendship, adventure, loss, discovery, conservation and transformation.
Those were the stories I wanted to tell.
I wanted to show people a side of Africa that they weren’t necessarily seeing through the media.
Not an idealised Africa. Not a sanitised Africa. Not a continent pretending that its problems don’t exist.
But a fuller Africa.
An Africa of extraordinary people and extraordinary stories. An Africa that could challenge perceptions, inspire curiosity and perhaps encourage someone who had always dreamed of visiting to finally take that step.
The question became: how could I share those stories?
FROM AN IDEA TO A PROJECT
I had no blueprint for what came next.
There was no existing book I could pick up and use as a model for what I was trying to create. I wasn’t compiling previously published stories or asking writers to submit pieces for an anthology. I was creating something from the ground up.
I was interviewing people about their lives.
I wanted to know what Africa meant to them. I wanted to hear about the experiences that had changed them, the places they had travelled, the people they had met, the work they were doing and the moments that had stayed with them. For some people, Africa was their birthplace. For others, it was a place they had travelled to, worked in, fallen in love with or eventually made their home. Their connections to the continent were as individual as their stories.
At the beginning, I created a list of around fifty questions. I would select and adapt questions depending on the person I was interviewing and their particular relationship with Africa. There was no rigid questionnaire that everyone had to answer because I didn’t want every story to sound the same.
I had to find the people.
I had to work out how to approach them.
I had to research their backgrounds.
I had to develop questions.
I had to conduct the interviews.
I had to build relationships and earn people’s trust.
I had to gather photographs and other material.
And then I had to work out how all of these individual conversations and experiences could eventually become a coherent book.
I had never done anything on that scale before.
There was no handbook telling me how to do it. There was no established publishing model I could simply follow. And, as far as I could find, there was no book already published that brought together this breadth of original voices and experiences about Africa in the way I was envisioning.
So I learned as I went.
I started searching for people through Instagram and Facebook. I followed leads, made connections, sent messages and reached out to people whose stories caught my attention. One person led to another.
Among the first people I interviewed was a woman who had married a Maasai warrior and was living in Tanzania. Another was a wildlife photographer from Zimbabwe. Each conversation opened another door, and those first few interviews were enough to make me realise that I had found something special.
I was completely inspired by the stories I was hearing.
The more people I spoke to, the more I wanted to know. Every interview introduced me to another perspective on Africa and another person whose experience was completely different from the one before.
The project began to snowball.
And then it began taking on a life of its own.
LETTING THE STORIES SPEAK
There was one principle that became particularly important to me as the project developed: I would not manufacture a narrative.
I wasn’t looking for people who would simply tell me the story I wanted to hear.
I didn’t interview people with the intention of proving that Africa was wonderful, nor did I want to create another publication that presented the continent only through its problems.
If someone had experienced something difficult, I wanted them to be able to talk about it.
If someone told me about poverty, crime, corruption, political difficulties, loss, wildlife poaching or other painful realities, those experiences belonged in the project too.
I never changed someone’s words to make their story fit a particular narrative.
I didn’t remove something because I thought it might make Africa look bad.
I didn’t rewrite people’s experiences to make them more positive.
And I didn’t selectively edit their stories to support an argument I had already decided upon.
That was never the purpose.
Because Africa is not one story.
Yes, terrible things happen across the continent. There is crime. There is corruption. There is poverty. There is poaching. There are political and social challenges. There are enormous difficulties facing communities, wildlife and ecosystems.
But those things are not the entirety of Africa.
There is also extraordinary beauty.
There are people doing extraordinary things.
There are rangers risking their lives to protect wildlife. Conservationists dedicating their lives to threatened species. Researchers and veterinarians working to preserve ecosystems. Guides carrying generations of knowledge about the land. Communities protecting their heritage and creating opportunities for future generations. People fighting tirelessly for wildlife. People building businesses, raising families, travelling, creating, exploring and simply living their lives.
There is humour.
There is resilience.
There is friendship.
There is culture.
There is adventure.
There is generosity.
There is hope.
And there are countless people whose lives have been transformed by their experiences on the continent.
I wanted all of that to exist within the same project.
I didn’t want to tell people what to think about Africa. I wanted to give them enough real voices and experiences to form their own understanding.
That meant allowing the contributors to tell their stories honestly and allowing the collection itself to become the narrative.
Some stories are uplifting.
Some are challenging.
Some are adventurous.
Some are heartbreaking.
Some are about wildlife and conservation.
Some are about culture and identity.
Some are about childhood.
Some are about careers and life’s work.
Some are about discovering Africa for the first time.
And some are simply about falling in love with a place that changes the way you see the world.
That diversity was never something I needed to correct.
It was the point.
I wanted to show a human Africa — not a perfect Africa, and not a broken Africa, but an Africa that is complicated, beautiful, challenging, inspiring, imperfect and real.
Because acknowledging the difficult things does not diminish the beauty.
It makes the beauty more meaningful.
LEARNING HOW TO BUILD THE PROJECT
As the project grew, I discovered that interviewing people and collecting stories was only the beginning.
There was an enormous amount happening behind the scenes that would never be visible to someone holding the finished book.
I was dealing with contributors from different countries and professional backgrounds. I was requesting photographs and other material. I was navigating copyright and intellectual property. I was obtaining permissions and putting agreements in place. I was learning about the legal responsibilities involved in using other people’s words, images and creative work.
As the profile of some of the contributors grew, so did the level of professionalism required.
At different stages I found myself communicating not only with contributors themselves but with agents, representatives and lawyers acting on their behalf. There were permissions to obtain, intellectual property to protect, contracts to navigate and agreements to establish.
Every new stage brought something I had never dealt with before.
So I learned.
I researched. I asked questions. I sought advice. I worked through problems. Then I moved on to the next one.
In many ways, I was building the project while simultaneously learning how to build it.
There was no large publishing team behind me.
No production department.
No established organisation with a system already in place.
There was me, a growing network of people who believed in what I was trying to create, and an idea that continued to become bigger every time I thought I had reached its limits.
And that became one of the most rewarding parts of the entire experience.
I didn’t begin the project knowing how to do all of this.
I learned because the project demanded that I learn.
WHEN THE PROJECT BECAME MORE THAN A BOOK
Eventually, the interviews themselves began to feel like something worth sharing.
The people I was speaking to had such fascinating experiences, and I didn’t want those voices to disappear into a manuscript that only a reader of the finished book would ever encounter.
That was when the idea of a podcast emerged.
The project expanded again.
What had started as an idea for a book became a series of interviews.
The interviews became relationships.
The relationships became stories.
The stories became a book.
The book became a podcast.
And the project continued to evolve.
Looking back, I don’t think I ever truly knew what I was creating when I began.
I only knew that I had experienced something in Africa that had changed me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that other people’s stories deserved to be heard too.
The project became much bigger than my own experience.
And ultimately, that was exactly what I wanted.
Because I Heart Africa Project was never supposed to be my story of Africa.
It was supposed to be a collection of voices.
A place where people could share what Africa had meant to them.
A place where the extraordinary could sit alongside the ordinary.
Where the difficult realities could exist alongside the beauty.
Where conservationists could share the same pages as travellers, guides, photographers, researchers, adventurers and people simply living their lives.
Where someone who had dedicated their entire career to Africa could sit alongside someone whose connection to the continent came from a single life-changing journey.
That is what makes the project what it is.
It isn’t one person’s Africa.
It is Africa as experienced through many different lives.
And perhaps that is why the project continues to evolve.
Because there will always be another story.
Another person.
Another experience.
Another perspective.
Another reason to fall in love with Africa.
THE BOOK
The first major expression of I Heart Africa Project was the book itself.
Bringing together voices from across Africa and around the world, the book became a collection of original interviews and personal stories from people whose lives have been shaped in some way by the continent.
Within its pages are conservationists, safari guides, rangers, wildlife experts, photographers, veterinarians, researchers, travellers, writers, adventurers, community advocates and people whose connection to Africa is deeply personal.
There are people with extraordinary professional backgrounds and remarkable achievements.
And there are people who might never consider themselves extraordinary at all, yet have lived extraordinary stories.
Some were born in Africa.
Some moved there.
Some work there.
Some have travelled there repeatedly.
Some fell in love with the continent.
Some found their life’s purpose there.
Some experienced profound loss or personal transformation there.
And some simply went to Africa expecting one thing and returned home seeing the world differently.
Together, their stories create something that no single person’s experience ever could.
Because there is no single Africa.
There are countless Africas — shaped by geography, history, culture, wildlife, communities, individual experiences and the people who call the continent home.
The book was never intended to tell readers what Africa is.
It was intended to let them hear Africa through the voices of those who have experienced it.
And that remains at the heart of I Heart Africa Project today.
What began with my own experience of falling in love with Africa has become a platform for celebrating the people, places, wildlife, cultures, conservation efforts and experiences that make this continent so extraordinary.
At its heart, however, the purpose remains the same as it was when I first began: to share the Africa that changed me.
The Africa beyond the headlines.
The Africa beyond the stereotypes.
The Africa of people, stories, courage, beauty, humour, resilience and hope.
The Africa that, once experienced, can stay with you forever.
I left a part of my soul in Africa in 2012.
I Heart Africa Project is, in many ways, my way of continuing to find it.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROJECT
NIKKI LOCKWOOD
Founder, I Heart Africa Project
Nikki Lockwood is a New Zealand writer, editor, researcher and storyteller and the founder of I Heart Africa Project. She holds a Master of Creative Writing from Massey University and has spent more than fifteen years working across writing, editing, research, interviewing and publishing.
Her work is driven by a fascination with people and the stories that shape our understanding of the world. Through I Heart Africa Project, Nikki has interviewed people from an extraordinary range of backgrounds, bringing together voices from across Africa and around the world.
From its beginnings as an idea for a book, Nikki has developed I Heart Africa Project into a wider storytelling platform exploring the people, wildlife, conservation, cultures, travel and experiences that make Africa so compelling.
Founder. Writer. Storyteller.
MORE THAN A BOOK
I Heart Africa Project began with a book, but it was never intended to end there.
The stories collected for the original project opened the door to something much bigger — an ongoing platform for discovering the people, places, wildlife, cultures, conservation efforts and experiences that make Africa so extraordinary.
Today, I Heart Africa Project continues beyond the pages of the book, bringing together stories and inspiration from across the continent while creating space for new voices, new journeys and new projects.
The book is where the story began.
The journey continues here.
OUR PURPOSE
I Heart Africa Project exists to share a fuller story of Africa.
Through authentic voices and firsthand experiences, the project seeks to celebrate the people, cultures, wildlife, landscapes, conservation efforts and adventures that make the continent so extraordinary.
Africa is complex. It has challenges, injustices and difficult realities, just as every part of the world does. But those stories are only part of the picture.
Our purpose is to help people see beyond the headlines — to discover the beauty, resilience, humour, humanity and possibility that exist across the continent, and perhaps to inspire them to experience Africa for themselves.
Because Africa deserves to be seen in all its richness, complexity and beauty.
WHERE WE’RE GOING
I Heart Africa Project is evolving into something much bigger than the book that started it all.
The next chapter is about continuing to discover and share the stories that deserve to be heard — from the people who call Africa home to those working to protect its wildlife, preserve its cultures and create a better future for its communities.
Through stories, travel inspiration, destinations, conservation, events and new projects, I Heart Africa Project will continue to connect people with Africa in meaningful and authentic ways.
The original book captured a moment in the journey.
Now, we’re continuing the story.
I HEART AFRICA PROJECT 