JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi teenager who qualified for the Make-A-Wish program is celebrating his gift by giving back to others.
Adeola “Abraham” Olagbegi, 13, of Jackson, decided to feed the homeless in the Poindexter Park neighborhood for one year, WLBT reported.
“I am a person of hope, so when you come against a big mountain, you have to remember you have a big God,” Olagbegi told the television station.
Make-A-Wish Mississippi officials said they had never seen such generosity from one of its gift recipients.
“When he so easily gives to others at a time where everybody should really be supporting him, you just have to say, that’s a remarkable young man,” Make-A-Wish Mississippi assistant Linda Sermons told WAPT.
Olagbegi was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in June 2020, WLBT reported. It is a rare condition in which the body stops producing enough new blood cells and causes bone marrow damage.
He had a transplant in November 2020, the television station reported.
When he received the news from Make-A-Wish, Olagbegi wanted his wish to be long-lasting.
“I remember we were coming home from one of his doctor appointments and he said, ‘Mom, I thought about it, and I really want to feed the homeless,’” Olagbegi’s mother, Miriam Olagbegi, told CBS News. “I said, ‘Are you sure, Abraham? You could do a lot ... You sure you don’t want a PlayStation?’”
The teen decided that helping his neighbors was more important than a video game.
“My mom always says it’s a blessing to be a blessing so I just wanted to do something for other people to make it last long,” Abraham Olagbegi told WAPT.
In September, Make-A-Wish helped Olagbegi organize a day to hand out free food and supplies to about 80 people, CBS News reported.
“When the homeless people got the plate, some of them would come back and sing to us and thank us,” Abraham Olagbegi told the network. “And it just really feels good, it warms our hearts. And my parents always taught us that it’s a blessing to be a blessing.”
When his wish is finished in August 2022, the teen plans to continue helping the homeless. He wants to turn his monthly aid into a nonprofit he has already dubbed “Abraham’s Table.”
“We’re just very excited to be able to continue on this endeavor. It’s just so rewarding,” Miriam Olagbegi told CBS News. “If I was out there on the streets, homeless, I would want somebody at some point to think of me and to do something special for me. So, that’s what I try to instill in my kids and we just try to pay it forward, by doing what we were raised to do.”