World Traveler Comes Home to Florida to Make a Difference

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—Jaha Cummings traveled and lived around the world, but he came home to his roots to make a difference in a community that served him well growing up.

“Jaha means Glory of God in Swahili,” Cummings explained when asked during an interview with The Epoch Times about the origins of his name.

Cummings’ roots are well-grounded in the history of the small southwest Florida city that seems to grow exponentially year after year as more and more people are attracted to the state and decide to call it home.

“One of my ancestors was one of the first people to come to this area in 1885 and was one of 15 surveyors responsible for bringing the railroad to the area, which completely changed the look and history of what would become Punta Gorda,” he explained.

Tom Satchel a member of the Harbor Sunset Rotary Club in Punta Gorda, Fla., speaks with county commission hopeful Jaha Cummings during an Aug. 2 Rotary Club meeting in 2022.  (Jann Falkenstern/The Epoch Times)

“My great-grandmother was here at a time when you had to take a boat from Punta Gorda to Gasparilla Island because there was no other way to get there.”

However, Cummings had dreams of traveling and seeing the world. After graduating high school he found himself immersed in Asian studies at Dartmouth University and after graduating college, he would go on to live in different parts of Asia where he opened markets for American companies and stayed for 20 years until he “came home on vacation.”

“I came back to visit my family and, well, when you grow up here you like it of course,” Cummings laughed as he recalled the day he decided to give up his Asian way of living and come home.

“But being back, being

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