My name is Africa Nasir, and I’m the founder of this foundation.
I originally come from Somalia, which has been a country of conflicts for the past twenty years. As a child I became a soldier to survive; by force of the elders, I was deprived of a childhood. When I got an opportunity, in 1993, I fled to the US and got a chance to educate myself and to dream, but I never stopped thinking about the children I left behind who wished somebody could show them the way, or even tell them that an ordinary, joyful life was possible.
I learned some sad truths in Somalia, such as the sad fact that it is always easier for bad people to use children because they are so impressionable. Instead of bringing children down, the goal of this foundation is to raise them up with hopes and dreams.
