Miyoba Hamuhuma and Israel Balogun —  Grassroots Solutions for Africa’s Impoverished Youth (EP.272)

I’m joined today by two remarkable men I met through the O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants program.

Israel Balogun was homeless and illiterate until the age of 22. Now, he leads a Nigerian youth rehabilitation nonprofit for street kids and is building a self-sustaining village for 200 out-of-school children with the support of an OSV Fellowship.

Miyoba Hamuhuma lost both parents by 12 and battled polio as a child. Now he runs Enlighten Abilities, a Zambian organization advocating for inclusive education and economic dignity for children with disabilities and their families, backed by an OSV Grant.

“Inspiring” is overused nowadays, but here, it barely does them justice. As well as digging into their stories, we explore how personal pain became public mission, how grassroots enablement beats top-down intervention, and why they believe rewriting destiny begins with changing who gets seen, who gets supported, and who gets to dream.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack.

Important Links:

• Israel Balogun's Akhin Foundation
• Israel Balogun's LinkedIn
• Miyoba Hamuhuma's Enlight Abilities
• Miyoba Hamuhuma's LinkedIn

Show Notes:

• First Goodnight in 12 Years
• How OSV Helped to Build a Home for Street Kids
• The Street King – Reclaiming Agency
• The Dignity of Choice
• Microenterprise for the Mothers
• Rethinking the Street Kid Stigma
• Inclusion is Not a Luxury, It is a Necessity
• Trust over Control: We help the kids Lead
• We seek to enable and empower
• Emperors of the World
• $10 = 30 bricks = Home for a Street Child