American Woman Who Was Adopted Finds Out She’s West African Princess
- Sarah Culberson was adopted as a young child in West Virginia after she was put in foster care
- At 28, she finally got the courage to look for her biological family, which led her to Africa
- The 45-year-old then embarked on a journey and in 2004 stepped foot in the country where she is a princess, from Bumpe
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An American woman who grew up in the United States discovered decades later that she is a real-life princess from Sierra Leone.
Sarah Culberson was adopted by a white family at a very young age and raised in West Virginia, US.
According to NBC News, Sarah grew curious about her biological family at age 28; she embarked on a journey to find them and got more than she bargained for.
The child to a white mother and African dad, Sarah was put in foster care and eventually adopted by Jim Culberson, with her father believed to have wanted nothing to do with her, reported FOX News.
After doing a search, she contacted her mother's relatives, who broke the news that her father was from Sierra Leone and even connected her to her African uncle. Unfortunately, she also learned that her biological mum died when she was only 11 years old.
Sarah later spoke to her dad, Joseph Konia Kposwa, who quickly asked for forgiveness, stating he did not know how to find her after she was given up for adoption because her name changed.
Princess comes home
It was an emotional meeting finally in 2004 when Sarah travelled to meet her biological father and family in the West African country to a hero's welcome.
However, it was not all glitters when she landed home in a small town called Bumpe and knew she had a lot of work to do to help a community recovering from a long civil war that ended just two years earlier.
Sarah is considered a mahaloi, the child of a paramount chief, hence princess of Bumpe village and the tribe of Mende, one of the largest in the country.
She said she saw challenges and discovered she had a responsibility to help her people, which saw her launch a non-profit organisation, Sierra Leone Rising, that has constructed schools and helped provide water for her people.
The actress also launched a book in 2010 dubbed A Princess Found and goes to places worldwide speaking about diversity and different cultures to help raise awareness.
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Another New Threat to King Misuzulu’s Reign
Meanwhile, Briefly News reported previously another group of royals is questioning the reign of King Misuzulu, claiming the throne does not rightfully belong to him.
Princess Nomkhubulwane, Princess Nomvula O’Meara, and Princess Mhlengi Zulu all argue that their ancestor, Prince Magangane George Zulu was robbed of the throne more than a decade back.
They've collectively written to the KZN premier, demanding that the rightful heir take his place.
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Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.