He was 15. His allowance sent Matthew to school.

Max Owobu, an 18-year-old high school senior from the Bronx, spent this year applying to universities and running an international nonprofit that pays for children in Ghana to attend school. He started it at 15, using money saved from his weekly allowance to send one boy, Matthew, to class. Owobu began visiting Ghana, his Nigerian father's childhood home, during summers, where he noticed kids his own age selling things on the street instead of studying. His Yenko Foundation, a registered 501(c)3, covers tuition, uniforms, meals and supplies. A quality education in Ghana usually means private school, and the system attracts scammers who charge parents hundreds of dollars for what Owobu calls little more than stern daycare. He and Matthew nearly got caught by one. A friend pointed him to Calvary Methodist School, and one visit settled it. The foundation has now funded 10 children through grades K-5, at $1,000 each per year.