Baha'is on trip to Africa

Mike O'Neal is undertaking his final tour of Africa as part of the Four Year Plan by the Universal House of Justice of the Baha'i faith to connect African-American men and women with African Baha'is.

These trips, undertaken annually for the past three years, are called The Black Men's Gathering.

"Because we are uniquely qualified and because we share a common bond and history, we want to demonstrate and encourage our African brothers and sisters to use the faith as their own, to infuse it into their culture," O'Neal said, explaining the purpose of the Four Year Plan.

He left for South Africa on Jan. 7 and will return Jan. 31. He'll also visit Malawi and Lesotho, before heading to Haifa, Israel, to give a report to the elders at the Universal House of Justice, headquarters for the Baha'is around the world. Then he returns to Savannah.

There are more than 50 men from across the Unites States on the trip. Divided into groups, they are visiting Botswana, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe.