- 1969-08-04 —
Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and her companion, Violette Nakhjavání, arrived in Kampala, Uganda, at the start of the 'Great African Safari'. [BN No 468 March 1970 p2-12]
On August 5, 1969, the wheels of our plane touched down at Entebbe airport, Kampala, Uganda—at last the long-promised visit of Amatu'l-Bahá to the believers of Africa was commencing. In 1961, at the time when she dedicated the Mother Temple of Africa for public worship, Rúḥíyyih Khánum promised the friends to come back and really visit them, touring as many Centres as possible. After nine years, this has now been fulfilled. [BW15p594]
It was the start of a four-leg journey that took the Hand of the Cause to 34 African countries, travelling 36,000 miles, addressing 40,000 people including 19 heads of state in some 400 gatherings. Beginning her
Safari in East Africa, she crossed the whole breadth of the continent to the Gambia, turned back
to the center of the Congo, and went down to the tip of South Africa in Cape Town before
returning to East Africa. She met nineteen Heads of State
among them Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, President Hamani Diori of Niger, President
Dr. William V.S Tubman of Liberia, King Motlotletlehi Sobhuza II of Swaziland, President
Gregoire Kayibanda of Rwanda, and President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia.
- For a map and details of the safari as well as pictures see BW15:593–607.
- See The Great African Safari: The travels of Rúhíyyih Khánum in Africa, 1969-73 by Violette Nakhjavani published by George Ronald in 2003.
- A diary of Rúhíyyih Khánum's travels through Africa was serialized in Bahá'í News in 26 issues (468-513) from 1970 through 1973.
These travels lead
to significant exposure of the Faith in the public domain, from governments to civil leaders to
mass media, propelling the development of national institutions across the continent in a new
dimension of work. One can say these events greatly contributed to the emergence of the Faith
from obscurity in Africa. [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p9]
- 1969-08-05 —
The itinerary for the first leg of the Great African Safari was as follows:
- Aug 4 - 14, 1969, Uganda
- Aug 15 - Sept 1,1969, Kenya
- Sept 2 - 26, 1969, Tanzania (and Mafia Island)
- Sept 28 - Oct 14, 1969, Kenya
- Oct 15 - Nov 17, 1969, Ethiopia. See BW15p186-187 where it is reported that over a thousand new Bahá'ís joined the ranks.
- Nov 17 - Dec 2, 1969, Kenya
- Dec 3, 1969 - Jan 2,1970, Uganda
- Jan 3 - 12, 1970, Zaire (now Central African Republic)
- Jan 13 - 24, 1970, Zaire (now Central African Republic)
- Jan 25 - Feb 7, 1970, Chad
- Feb 8 - 10, 1970, Nigeria
- Feb 11 - 18, 1970, Niger
- Feb 19 - 26, 1970, Dahomey (now Benin)
- Feb 27 - Mar 1, 1970, Togo
- Mar 2 - 11, 1970, Ghana [BW15p606]
- 1970-11-20 —
Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and her companion, Violette Nakhjavání, arrived in Ghana, at the start of the second leg of the 'Great African Safari' covering Western Africa. The itinerary was as follows:
- Nov 20 - 28, 1970, Ghana
- Nov 29 - Dec 21, 1970, Ivory Coast (now Côte d'Ivoire)
- Dec 23, 1970 - Jan 14, 1971, Liberia
- Jan 13 - 14, 1971, Ivory Coast (now Côte d'Ivoire)
- Jan 15 - Feb 1, 1971, Mali
- Feb 2 - 11, 1971, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso)
- Feb 12 - 21, 1971, Ghana
- Feb 22 - Mar 2, 1971, Ivory Coast (now Côte d'Ivoire)
- Mar 3 - 15, 1971, Liberia
- Mar 16 - 25, 1971, Sierra Leone
- Mar 26 - Apr 8, 1971, Senegal
- Apr 9 - 26, 1971, Gambia (now The Gambia)
- Apr 26, 1971, Senegal
- Apr 27 - May 10, 1971 Ivory Coast (now Côte d'Ivoire)
- May 11 - 28, 197l, Ghana [BW15p606-607]
- 1971-08-06 —
- 1972-05-11 —
- 1973-02-00 —
Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and her companion Violette Nakhjavání completed their tour of Africa.
- For details of the safari see BW15:593–607.
- They drove some 36,000 miles to visit more than 30 countries. [BW15:596; VV12]
- See BW15:606–7 for the countries, islands and territories visited and the heads of state and other dignitaries who received them.
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