The story of Africa is like a Shakespearean tragedy. From barbaric tribalism, to colonialism, to post independence wars, military takeovers, the advent of the deadly HIV/AIDS Virus, to the never succeeding fight against it, the high mortality rates and low literacy rates, hunger and starvation, low levels of industrialization and high levels of unemployment, high levels of poverty and the wailing standards of living, as well as the rich cultural heritage that is being eroded by the winds of globalization, it all seems like the continent never has any positive story that comes out of it.

Yet, all this seems not to be a hindrance to the aspirations of the continent’s youths both within Africa and the Diaspora, who through the Think Big Africa Foundation aspire to squarely analyze and address these and more issues that have held back the development of the continent in the last millennium. These youths are held together by their firm belief that all is not lost, and that Africa can still start from where it is, and adopt development oriented reforms that will create and sustain development of the individual countries and states in the continent, and hence lead to ultimate rise of a continent that is by far the most underdeveloped society on the globe.

At TBAF, we recognize that for the world to develop, Africa needs to develop as well. This is because the development of the African continent would provide the rest of the world with a potential resource of about a billion people, who if empowered with social, economic and political reforms would act as a potential market for the rest of the developing and developed world. We are therefore not wrong to say that the development of the world in the 21st century might squarely depend on the development of Africa and how this enormous population is empowered to facilitate the take off of global growth, especially from the current global economic crisis that we are facing.

We envision a future when we can collectively and responsibly work together to facilitate the development and empowerment of our young people throughout the African region. It is our deeply held belief that such empowerment can be attained through the provision of knowledge and information, the skills to use that information wisely; and the resources, values and attitudes to promote the active participation of youth in decision making and in program development implementation and management.
-Julius A. Murinzi, Sr., Founder/President TBAF