Fordham Prep Student Turns Ghana Trip Into Mission to Help Children

Maxwell Owobu, a senior at the Catholic Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, co-founded the Yenko Foundation to help children in Ghana access education. Owobu started the organization after noticing during a visit to Ghana at age 15 that many children his age were working in shops and street fairs instead of attending school.

Owobu partnered with childhood friends Alexander Chandler and Myles Spive to establish the foundation, which has operated for two years. The name Yenko means "Let's go" in Twi, a language spoken in Ghana. The group has raised approximately $19,000 to assist 15 children with the costs of school uniforms, books, transportation, and lunches.

The foundation provides financial support to help parents cover educational expenses in a country where nearly 23.4% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform.