The African Union’s theme for this year’s Africa Month is “Arts, Culture, and Heritage.” Forever Family has just established a programme that keeps track of African families’ existence. The Forever Family e-zine and family directory’s founder and creative mind is Obakeng Kunupi. His goal is to bring Africans together through their shared family heritage.

“Forever Family is about strengthening family bonds and nurturing them for the future development of Africans,” Kunupi continues. “We know where we are headed if we know where we came from – who we are. Documenting the African family helps to reinforce the family’s foundations and brings the family closer together.”

Many African families, according to Kunupi, do not have an official family tree-like those held by traditional Europeans and Americans. “African ancestry is passed down from generation to generation verbally. It is difficult for the younger generation of Africans to obtain, owing to the fact that they reside in cities rather than in rural areas with their elders. As a result, Forever Family’s services and products are instruments for Africans to make it easy to have each family recorded.”

Platform

Forever Family not only documents family history but also pictures it. “The clan name, as well as the account of how and where the clan came from, are recorded in the family directory. It keeps track of family stories, elders’ memories, and young people’s dreams.” Although the product is now web-based. Kuni intends to expand it into a full-fledged digital platform with its own mobile application.

The digital platform is simple to navigate. After registering, Forever Family gives the user a questionnaire. The content of the family profile is made up of the replies. The second stage is to match the family with a professional photographer. Who will picture them in their favourite location. “I see the products and services we provide as an opportunity to start a dialogue between young individuals and the elderly.”

“It is also a tool to reestablish the powerful and positive image of African families. That is often misrepresented in the media,” says the author. Although Forever Family is centred on African families, Kunupi emphasizes. That any family, regardless of ethnicity, can register in the family database.

Final Thoughts

“Unity and collectiveness are the foundations of culture and heritage,” Kunupi continues. “I take a lot of inspiration from the African idea of Ubuntu, which states, “I am because we are”. It aids us in collectively building, thinking, and planning. We have gone a long way as Africans, and we are now beginning to support each other’s companies. However, I feel that our efforts to improve the African continent can be more structured.”

“The Kwanzaa values of Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Independence) come to mind (Faith). These ideas guide the discussion toward a people-centered approach to building the continent. We can achieve so much as Africans and make it lucrative if we are the ones who drive the change we want to see.”