Until African children are taught how to develop themselves and sustain the quality of life in their own villages, in their own country, they will never be free from Africa's own 'prison' of underdevelopment. It's time for to see hope in their communities and their surroundings.

Unfortunately, too many African adults and children believe that the only way to survive is to leave the beauty, peace and safety of their homes and venture into the overcrowded and under-serviced cities or to leave Africa all together in search of a better life. Consequently, young children end up begging in the streets, resorting to criminal activities and barely scraping through life. Their childhoods and dreams of a good life are ruined and, many times, never turned around.

In 2006, I traveled back to my home in Dakar, Senegal, to visit family and friends. As much as I enjoyed being home again it was heart-breaking to see that life had gotten worse in some areas of the country.

The future looked even more hopeless for the youth. I found myself giving money to kids begging on the streets, wondering how I could make a more permanent contribution to their lives and future needs.

I had enjoyed a remarkably good life in the US with many blessings from the Arts, Sport and Technology, but realized that I could easily have been one of these kids in a country without much hope for a future.

So I decided that I’d do something significant to “pay it backwards” – to help children in rural Africa build better futures for themselves.