Each year, Make-A-Wish makes over 15,000 dreams come true for kids across America. The most common request kids make is to visit some sort of theme park, enjoying special perks and days of carefree fun with their loved ones. For kids with qualifying conditions, having a wish granted boosts their morale. It gives kids struggling with medical conditions something to look forward to and allows them to temporarily forget about their daily stressors. Though many kids understandably use their wish to improve their own lives, 13-year-old Abraham Olagbegi dreamt of improving the lives of others.
Last year, Abraham was diagnosed with a rare and congenital blood disorder called aplastic anemia. Due to his condition, the 13-year-old underwent a bone marrow transplant, which was fortunately successful. Abraham met the qualifications to receive a wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and after considering a trip to Disney World or perhaps a new gaming system, the teen knew exactly what he wanted: Abraham wanted to feed the homeless.
“A PlayStation would be nice,” Abraham told NBC News, “but to me, I just feel like it wouldn’t do it justice, all the pain and stuff that I went through. So I felt like it just would have been right to feed the homeless, just to give back.”
With the help of Make-A-Wish, Abraham organized his first day of food distribution in Jackson, Mississippi. The September event was a success, feeding roughly 80 people who otherwise would’ve gone without food. The people helped by Abraham’s wish expressed immense gratitude, confirming to the generous teen that his decision was the right one.
For several years, feeding the hungry with his family has instilled in Abraham the importance of giving back. Now, thanks to the teen’s generosity, Make-A-Wish will help Abraham organize the distribution of over 700 meals through August 2022.
“Most of the homeless people, you know, they had good childhoods,” Abraham explains. “And you just don’t know, one day you could be homeless. Before you put your nose in somebody else’s business, put your heart in their place first.”