Bronx teen used his allowance to sponsor a child in Ghana — now his nonprofit funds 10

While most high school seniors are consumed by prom plans and college applications, Max Owobu has spent his senior year managing an international nonprofit and making a trip to Ghana. He is 18 years old and lives in the Bronx.

Owobu founded the Yenko Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3), after spending summers in Ghana — the country where his Nigerian father grew up — starting at age 15. What he saw there stayed with him.

I was seeing kids my age working, just selling things on the street or in shops, working along with the family to try and get by rather than going to school to get an education so they could better their lives for the future.— Max Owobu, founder, Yenko Foundation

His first act was simple: he used money saved from his weekly allowance to pay for a child in Ghana named Matthew to attend school. That single sponsorship became the seed of the Yenko Foundation, which now raises donations to cover K-5 education at Calvary Methodist Elementary School in Accra, Ghana's capital.

The foundation's model covers everything a child needs to participate: tuition, school uniforms, transportation to and from school, meals, and supplies — all for $1,000 per child per year. In Ghana, unlike in most American cities, a quality primary education typically means private school, with tuition costs that many families cannot absorb on their own.

Finding the right school was not straightforward. Accra's size makes it fertile ground for operators who charge parents hundreds of dollars for what amounts to little more than supervised daycare, and Owobu and Matthew came close to being caught out by one such arrangement. A tip from a contact in the country led him to Calvary Methodist, and one visit settled the question.

The kids were just so joyous, so enthusiastic, just so joyful to be going to school.— Max Owobu, founder, Yenko Foundation

Donations channeled through the foundation have now put 10 children through the program. Owobu's near-term goal is to bring that number to between 10 and 15 children moving through the full K-5 sequence. After that, he has said he wants to expand the foundation's reach beyond education to include hospitals and orphanages across Ghana.

The Yenko Foundation operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, meaning donations to it are tax-deductible in the United States. Owobu continues to manage the organization while completing his senior year of high school.

Why it matters — It costs $1,000 — less than many Americans spend on a phone — to keep a child in school for a full year in Ghana, and one teenager from the Bronx has already proven the model works for 10 kids.

Reported by goodnewsnetwork.org, impactful.ninja