Hello West Africa began the same way many meaningful things do.
Through time, relationships, and lived experience.

This isn't a company dreamed up from afar.
It grew out of years of living, working, raising a family, and building community in Benin.

Hello West Africa is led by us,
Dr. Debra Kouda and Thomas D'Aquin Kouda

Thomas was born and raised in Benin. Debra first came to Benin in 2007 as a Peace Corps volunteer and has called it home ever since.

Between us, we've lived life on both sides of the Atlantic. We understand what it feels like to grow up inside a culture—and what it feels like to arrive as an outsider, trying to learn the language, navigate the rhythms, and understand the unspoken rules.

That dual perspective is at the heart of everything we do.

We're both Beninese American. We're also partners in life and in this work. And we serve as the primary guides for every Hello West Africa tour, bringing our complementary strengths to create experiences that feel both deeply local and genuinely welcoming to international travelers.

Who We Are

Debra

Debra first came to Benin in 2007 to serve in the Peace Corps in Camaté-Shakaloke, the same village where Thomas grew up. She's spent the years since living, working, and raising a family between Benin and the United States.

Her background spans education, conservation, community development, and higher education. She holds a Doctorate of Education in Leadership and Innovation, with doctoral research focused on transformative learning through experiential and online tourism, studying how travel experiences can genuinely shift people's perspectives on the world and themselves.

That research didn't stay academic. It became the foundation for how Hello West Africa tours are designed.

Debra understands what travelers from the U.S., Canada, and Europe worry about (safety, comfort, logistics, language barriers, and cultural uncertainty) because she has navigated those concerns herself. Her role is to help guests feel prepared, supported, and confident throughout the tour, from start to finish.

She oversees tour design, leads pre-trip preparation sessions, facilitates guided reflection during the journey, and manages post-trip community engagement.

Thomas D’Aquin

Thomas D’Aquin grew up in Camaté, a small village near Dassa, where relationships matter more than schedules and community shapes daily life.

He brings deep local knowledge, cultural fluency in both French and indigenous languages, and long-standing relationships with the people and places guests encounter throughout the journey. Many of the experiences on our tours happen not because they're on an itinerary, but because of the trust built over decades.

Thomas leads in-country operations, manages logistics, coordinates with local partners and staff, and ensures that every aspect of the tour runs smoothly and efficiently. More importantly, he serves as the cultural bridge, helping moments feel natural, respectful, and grounded rather than awkward or overwhelming.

His presence means guests aren't just visiting Benin. They're being welcomed into his community.

How the tour came to be…

Over the years, friends, family members, and colleagues kept asking the same question:

"Could we visit you in Benin?"

And when they did, something interesting happened.

The most meaningful moments weren't the famous sites or the planned activities. They were the everyday experiences: sitting in the shade talking with neighbors, walking through the village at dawn, visiting a farm, sharing a meal, asking questions that didn't have simple answers.

People didn't just enjoy Benin. They left changed by it.

Hello West Africa was created to make space for those kinds of experiences…intentionally.

The tour is built from the ground up using principles from transformational learning research, not to force change, but to create the conditions that allow it:

  • Preparation before arrival to build confidence and context

  • Time and space during the experience for genuine connection

  • Guided reflection along the way to deepen understanding

  • Ongoing community afterward to support integration

That's why our tours don't rush. Why rest matters. Why conversations matter. Why small groups matter. Why the relationship continues even after guests return home.

What makes us different

  • Every tour is led personally by both of us from start to finish. While we work with trusted local guides for specific experiences, like visiting the hippos or exploring specialized sites, we are your primary guides throughout the journey, ensuring consistency, cultural depth, and genuine relationship-building.

  • Our combined perspective, one of us born and raised in Benin, the other navigating it as an American who made it home, allows us to bridge cultures with ease and translate experiences meaningfully for international travelers.

  • The village-based portion of the tour happens at our family home in Kabole. Guests aren't staying at a tourist facility, they're being welcomed into our extended community, with all the access, authenticity, and warmth that comes with it.

  • This isn't just intuition. The tour structure reflects years of doctoral research on how transformative learning happens through travel. We've designed the experience to support real understanding, not just sightseeing.

  • For many English-speaking travelers, language is one of the biggest barriers to visiting Francophone West Africa. We remove that friction entirely while helping you engage respectfully with the local culture.

An Invitation

When you join a Hello West Africa tour, you're not just visiting a country.

You're being welcomed into a community, ours included, for twelve days and, if you choose, for a year beyond through our online community.

You're investing in an experience designed to shift perspective, build connection, and stay with you long after you return home.

If that feels like the kind of travel you're looking for, we'd love to meet you.

Contact us

to schedule a conversation!