He Was 15 With an Allowance. Now 10 Kids in Ghana Are in School Because of Him

Bronx teenager Max Owobu turned summer trips to Ghana into a nonprofit that covers a full year of primary school for children who would otherwise be working instead of learning.

The first thing Max Owobu noticed was not the heat or the busy Accra streets. It was kids his own age selling snacks from trays, stacking shelves in shops, helping their families get by. School, for them, was something that happened to other children.

Max was 15 then, spending summers in the country where his Nigerian father grew up. He was still in high school in the Bronx, still collecting a weekly allowance. Instead of letting what he saw sit as a sad memory, he started putting that allowance toward one child’s education. The boy’s name was Matthew. That single sponsorship became the seed of the Yenko Foundation, the 501(c)(3) Max later registered so friends and strangers could help too.

One visit, one school, ten children

Getting it right took care. In a huge city like Accra, Max learned, some so-called schools take parents’ money and deliver little more than crowded daycare. He and Matthew nearly walked into that trap. A friend on the ground pointed him toward Calvary Methodist Elementary School. One visit settled it. “The kids were just so joyous, so enthusiastic, just so joyful to be going to school,” Max told Good News Network.

Yenko does not dabble in vague “support.” Roughly $1,000 covers a full year for one child in grades K through 5: tuition, uniforms, rides to school, meals, and supplies. So far the foundation has channeled donations to put 10 children through that path. Max’s near-term goal is 10 to 15 kids finishing primary school, then widening the work to hospitals, orphanages, and anyone else in Ghana who needs a hand.

He is still 18, still finishing senior year, still juggling prom plans and college applications with foundation trips and donor updates. Ambition is not the missing piece. If you want to help the same way Max started, look up the Yenko Foundation and sponsor a year of school for one child. A thousand dollars sounds large until you picture a uniform, a desk, and a kid who no longer has to choose between earning and learning.

If you were 15 again with only an allowance to give, what would you put it toward?