His father Jean-Pierre Faye was the nephew of author and former
President Leopold Sedar Senghor from Senegal. His father belonged to
the senegal ethnic group of Serer, his mother was
bavarian-german.
His autobiography, "Ein Niederbayer im Senegal", describes his
difficult childhood as son of an African in rural Bavaria in the
sixties (2004).
Founded the organization "Afrika Direkt e.V.", which helps the victims
of the flood disaster in Senegal (2002).