When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry traveled to Nigeria last month, it was an opportunity for them to support some of their most important charitable projects in action, from visiting wounded veterans in support of the Invictus Games to kicking off an Archewell-supported teen mental health summit. But in between engagements, the couple experienced Nigerian culture, including dance, music, and traditional beaded necklaces. In 2022, Meghan mentioned on a podcast that a recent DNA test had shown that her heritage was 43% Nigerian, and ever since she has been embracing the culture.

During their trip, they were accompanied by Afam Onyema, the head of the GEANCO Foundation, who says the duke and duchess were impressed by what they saw during their visit. “Both Harry and Megan talked about the pride people have when you get to see Nigeria at its best,” Onyema tells Vanity Fair. “It was just really great for her to see that positive side of Nigeria, and that they were there to celebrate her acknowledging her connection to Nigeria. There was such great pride in Megan not running from it, not obfuscating, but [saying], I’m proud to be a part of you. I remember she said that she felt like she was coming home.”

The partnership between Archewell and the GEANCO Foundation began in 2023 with a project aimed at addressing period poverty, and that project ultimately provided menstrual products and school supplies to 2,500 girls in Nigeria. This year, the charities expanded their partnership to include mental health services for students at the Lightway Academy in Abuja, with plans to expand further in the country.

As Onyema developed the GEANCO Foundation, he realized that he had the opportunity to leverage the many actors of Nigerian descent in Hollywood. “I thought, if you get their entertainment community involved, it’s a way to not only combat the negative ideas people have about Nigeria, but really to accelerate the work, if you get the right people to support it,” he says. “You’re able to use that as a really great way to not only raise money, but raise awareness.”

One of the foundation’s early celebrity supporters was actor David Oyelowo, who has helped fund educational programs with the organization. Onyema says that Oyelowo got involved after the 2014 Bring Back Our Girls campaign alerted him to the long-term needs for girls’ education and the impact his involvement could have. “If we do it, we have to be a true partnership. It’s not just you coming to a red carpet once a year. We have to be in the trenches together,” Onyema says he told the actor at the beginning of their collaboration. “To his credit, he’s just been fully committed.” Onyema also asked Oyelowo for some help getting his famous friends involved, and Oprah Winfrey was one of the early supporters for the scholarship.

Onyema decided to get in touch with Meghan and Harry through Oyelowo after hearing about Meghan’s heritage on her podcast. “I’ve known about them, obviously, for many years, and always been a fan of their philanthropic heart,” he says. “I’m like, Oh, this is it! We have got to let her know about what we’re doing. She had mentioned wanting to get to know her roots. So I thought, Well, we’re based here in LA, we’re doing work in Nigeria, and we have friends in common.”

During the May trip to Nigeria, he got a chance to see their philanthropy in action. “There was a great harmony in that trip, because there was very much a sense of hard work and just getting things done,” he says. “That’s very important to them—from my experience with them and their team—leaving a legacy and impact and really helping people in a direct, tangible way.”