A Woman Discovers That She’s a Princess in Sierra Leone and Creates an Organization to Help Her People

Humanitarian. Educator. Book author. And on top of all that, a princess! Sarah Culberson, a girl born and raised by a foster family in America, makes us believe that real life might surprise you with events that are cooler than in the most exciting fictional books. In other words, at some point in your life you could find out that your father is a chief in an African country and that you actually come from a royal family.

Here at Bright Side we get absolutely astonished when we hear stories that sound like they’re straight from a Disney fairytale. If you do too, scroll down!

Sarah was adopted and raised by a couple in West Virginia.

Sarah Culberson was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, and as an infant, she was put into foster care and adopted when she was a little less than a year old by a loving American couple. Growing up she fell in love with theatre and won a scholarship to West Virginia University, then she got her Master of Fine Arts degree at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

After graduating, Sarah moved to Los Angeles, pursuing an acting and dancing career. Throughout the years she was also trying to figure out her identity and find out about her origins, all she knew about her biological parents is that she has an African father and an American mother.

A private investigator helped her contact her dad’s relatives and she found out she’s part of a royal family.

While trying to get to know her origins, Sarah hired a private investigator, who helped her find out that her dad’s part of the family lives in Maryland, he suggested that she write a letter to her relatives. A few days later she received a phone call from her aunt and uncle in Maryland.

The uncle revealed that Sarah’s grandfather runs a chiefdom in Sierra Leone and said that they’d contact her dad and that he’d be happy to see and hear from her. That’s when Sarah planned her first trip to Sierra Leone.

After a trip to Sierra Leone, Sarah founded a non-profit organization to help support local communities there.

The young woman was so impressed by meeting her father and paternal relatives, and the way the villagers greeted her, that she decided she wanted to help these people make their lives better because, after the civil war, many settlements in Sierra Leone were in a deplorable state.

In 2006 Sarah and her brother Hindo formed a non-profit called Sierra Leone Rising to develop education, and the rebuilding of Bumpe High School after the war, now the organization’s goals also include female empowerment and public health in the Bumpe Chiefdom, with plans to expand the influence throughout the country.

Sarah’s book, A Princess Found, will be adapted into an upcoming movie.

Nowadays, Sarah lives in the United States, though she visits Sierra Leone often, as the co-founder of a non-profit that’s helping the country. She also wrote a book called A Princess Found, about her whole journey in 2009.

Being an actual princess, Sarah says it’s barely what you see in cartoons and she shares that this story made her grow so much as a person (very quickly) and she honors the fact that she is a part of the work being done in Sierra Leone.

Sarah believes that sharing her story can help young kids with African roots understand their origin better.

Now princess Sarah travels around the world and tells her story, speaking out about diversity, empowerment, and leadership, focusing on building a better community and culture both in Sierra Leone and the United States.

Do you follow any royal families or princesses? If yes, which ones are your favorite? We’d be happy to see your comments in the section below.