The superstar couple, Asafa Powell and Alyshia Miller-Powell arrived in Miller-Powell’s home country of Ghana on February 27 and ended their trip on March 7. For Miller-Powell, it was an official homecoming, as the international supermodel is a Ghanaian native. But, for Powell, it was something more historical. The Jamaican sprint legend has made the journey home that many Caribbean-born people dream of.
The two were given a hero’s welcome. Professional musicians and greeters met them at the airport as they touched down in Ghana. An eager crowd studied the couple amidst the celebration. Powell was overjoyed by the reception, even posting to socials, “Ghana feels so good to be home.”
During the trip, Asafa Powell attended several events with public officials, including a courtesy call to the President of the Republic at the Jubilee House, speaking with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and holding talks with the Ghana Olympic Committee, and the Ghana Athletics Association. He was also hosted at several sports clinics and gave talks at senior and junior high schools around the country. Snapshots from the Powell’s trip to Ghana can be found on The Powells YouTube channel.
Ghana’s call to the diaspora
This invitation extended to the Powells is not only a step towards strengthening Ghanaian-Jamaican relationships, but is indicative of a bigger movement spearheaded by the Ghanaian government.
In 2019, Ghana’s government dubbed an initiative the Year of Return – a 10-year project launched in memorial of the 400th anniversary of the slave trade, which displaced millions of Africans around the ‘New World.’ This ‘Year of Return’ was a call to the African diaspora to unite, combining their strengths to mitigate their weaknesses and put Africans and the diaspora on the global stage.
Through the Homeland Return Act, Ghana is planning to offer possible citizenship to interested members of the diaspora in hopes of building a brand of Ghana and solidifying investments. It’s an exciting initiative of which hosting the Powells is but one step.
About the Powells
Asafa Powell is a retired Jamaican Sprinter who held the world record for the 100m event twice. He’s the fourth fastest man in history, behind two of his compatriots, and has broken the 10-second barrier more times than anyone else – at an astonishing 97 times.
Alyshia Akua Miller-Powell was born in Ghana to a Canadian father and a Ghanaian mother and moved to Canada at the age of 10. She had her athletic past, running the 400m event at a high school level before finding her calling as a model. She has walked some of the most prestigious stages in Denmark, New York, and London. The two star in a reality Youtube show, The Powells, which offers a glimpse into their lives as talented, personable, yet grounded, Jamaicans.
