Celebrity actor, Boris Kodjoe, has revealed what pushed him and his family to embark on recent trips to Ghana.

Speaking on ‘The Real’, the American television panel show featuring a group of outspoken female hosts, the actor said they wanted to change the description about Africa by the foreign media that it is a place of war, famine, etc.

“We wanted to show people the true side of Africa,” he added.

Kodjoe and his wife Nicole Ari Parker, played key roles in the successful ‘Year of Return’ programme which helped attract the diaspora in America back home. The duo spearheads an initiative called Full Circle Festival.

Explaining the importance behind these trips, Boris Kodjoe, who is German of Ghanaian descent, said the continent is one of tremendous diversity which currently has seven of the 10-fastest growing economies in the world.

He said: “We wanted to commemorate the 400 years since the beginning of the slave trade, to reconnect with our ancestry, to talk about our collective heritage and make people understand that we are not descendants of slaves; we’re descendants of survivors. When you make that switch on your mind it has tremendous impact on your conscience.”