© 2025 WEMU
Serving Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, MI
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
School Closing Information

#OTGYpsi: Odindi Youth Action Village provides support in Ypsilanti Township's West Willow neighborhood

Odindi Youth Action Village co-founders Akin Oluwadare and Bambo Oluwadare.
Doug Coombe
/
Concentrate Media
Odindi Youth Action Village co-founders Akin Oluwadare and Bambo Oluwadare.

Resources:

Concentrate Ann Arbor

Rylee Barnsdale's Feature Article: Nonprofit seeks to empower young people in Ypsi Township's West Willow neighborhood

Odindi Youth Action Village (OYA)

OYA Programs

OYA on Facebook

Transcription:

Rylee Barnsdale: You're listening to 89 one WEMU. I'm Rylee Barnsdale, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. The father/son-led nonprofit, Odindi Youth Action Village, has been actively working in and alongside the West Willow neighborhood community since 2022. And as their numerous successful initiatives and programs continue to evolve and grow, the support from the community members and local partners grows as well. I'm here today with OYA co-founder Akin Oluwadare to learn more about his and his father's organization and their unwavering commitment to the community that they serve. Hi, AkIn! Thanks so much for being here!

Akin Oluwadare: Hey, Rylee! Thank you for having me and good morning!

Odindi Youth Action Village co-founder Akin Oluwadare.
Doug Coombe
/
Concentrate Media
Odindi Youth Action Village co-founder Akin Oluwadare.

Rylee Barnsdale: So, for those who don't know about OYA, can you give us the brief elevator pitch on what this nonprofit is and what your goals are as far as your work in West Willow goes?

Akin Oluwadare: Yeah. Back in 2021, my dad and I, my pops, my best friend, we would always have conversations around the work that we are currently doing and would love to continue to do and then do those conversations. My dad is first...well, I'm first generation. My dad's from Nigeria, and we were talking around his upbringing in it and whatnot. And one word that would always come around is like for-whole, which means "odindi." It's whole. And we want to support youth holistically at the school and in neighborhoods with families. So, that's kind of how the name was birthed. And that's the peaking in how we navigate through all the programming and initiatives that we do.

Rylee Barnsdale: What about this kind of social work appealed to you and your father? Was this the kind of work you always saw yourself doing--or you both saw yourself doing, I should say?

Akin Oluwadare: We always saw ourselves as supporting. So, my pops and I, we went to school together. We went to WCC, and then he went to Eastern studying social work. And then, when we went to do our master's, he stayed at Eastern. I went to U of M. And after that, when we started working, I started working in Detroit, and my pops stayed in Ypsi. And we always saw ourselves supporting. And we would continue to have conversations, and we have a really strong connection to West Willow, in particular, My sister, I have family, that live in that neighborhood. And we would always do work and support, like working on a newsletters, going to neighborhood meetings. And there was one incident where my nephew was murdered in West Willow. And that kind of made me say, "Hey, I want to move back to Ypsilanti and do this work fully," because it means something. It hits home a little bit different when you're able to do community work in the neighborhood you grew up in with folks you grew up with. So, my dad and I, we said, "Let's do it!" And we're doing it!

Odindi Youth Action Village co-founder Bambo Oluwadare.
Doug Coombe
/
Concentrate Media
Odindi Youth Action Village co-founder Bambo Oluwadare.

Rylee Barnsdale: You mentioned this goal--this overall goal--of servicing the youth in the community in this holistic way. What are some of the new ways and new things that you're bringing into the community in order to achieve this goal?

Akin Oluwadare: Yeah. The first thing we started doing is we really leaned into intergenerational work, even with my partnership with my dad. He's older. He's considered an elder. And I'm somewhat younger. And how we work is very, very different. But we complement each other. And that kind of transitions into the community work that we do as well. So, when we were working in West Willow, there was one need that we saw that a lot of the elders in the neighborhood were like, "Hey, these kids! They're acting like fools! We don't know what to do!" And a lot of the youth are saying, "Hey, these older folks don't get us." But we were able to use that as a way to connect and reconnect it through storytelling. So, we use storytelling. So, initially, my pops would go with the elders and talk with them around what are some things--and we took a strength-based perspective. We said, "Hey, our neighborhood is amazing! What are some things that will make it even better?" So, my dad did that with the elders, and I did that with the youth. And one common theme that we saw was the need for a safe space to build community and to connect. The youth saw that with the park and also the elders. And that's what we brought them both together and said, "Hey, actually, we have some commonalities through our stories!" And that's when we started advocating and taking action. And they started working collectively, in regards to lifting up the needs in our community.

Rylee Barnsdale: And as far as the community response and how that has been since this work got started, either with the storytelling groups, I know that there's also a summer camp program that OYA has been doing. There is the afterschool program--the Freedom School. How has the community responded to this work? You know, what are folks saying about OYA and the work that you're doing with them?

Akin Oluwadare: Yeah, it's very unique and it's been very positive because, one thing, one common thread, whatever we do, we have like an intergenerational component and a communal component. So, even with our Freedom School, even though, typically, Freedom School happens during the summer, we decided to say, "Hey, we want to do this during the school year." Because we know, especially a lot of folks around 48198/48197, that there is a need for supplementary support. And just to be affirmed that. Hey, you matter! You're smart! And we really focused on reading and math and then also self-identity as well. So, we started with affirmations, letting them know and them saying it out loud that they are able. So, and the unique component is, and I'd be remiss. I have to mention Seven, Sheila, Miss Janice, these are folks from the community who are working in the community who are moms and who are grandmoms. And that goes back to that intergenerational piece because a lot of the youth that are Freedom School, they see them in school. They see them in the neighborhood. And then, they see them after school as well. So, that's that whole, literally, a family. And we have family dinners. So, even with our Freedom School, like you mentioned, we have a summer camp coming up and that's and intergenerational summer camp. So, it's not just for younger folks, but it's also for older folks as well. And it goes back to that storytelling group where they say, "We want to have something positive in the park." And we said, "Okay!" As we were advocating, we're going to take action in occupying that space with something positive. So, we have our youth and our elders during the summer. This would be our second year starting in June, where they will be sharing space, having circles, community pods, where they get to connect and know one another and work with one another as well.

OYA members Akin Oluwadare, Seven Brown, Layla Broaden, Sheila Washington, and Bambo Oluwadare.
Doug Coombe
/
Concentrate Media
OYA members Akin Oluwadare, Seven Brown, Layla Broaden, Sheila Washington, and Bambo Oluwadare.

Rylee Barnsdale: This is WEMU's On the Ground Ypsi. I'm talking with co-founder of the nonprofit Odindi Youth Action Village, Akin Oluwadare. So, as far as OYA's future in West Willow, Akin, what is coming down the pipeline? You mentioned the summer camp program--the intergenerational summer camp program--returning this summer. Can we expect to see programs like that maybe expanding or changing or maybe even potentially new programs being added to the lineup?

Akin Oluwadare: Yeah. So, actually, starting next month in February with our Freedom School, their younger youth, so starting from third grade all the way up to seventh grade, we have youth in the Freedom School. And then for our older teens, we're going to have the Sankofa leadership. But going back to how everything is embedded in intergenerational work and making sure that we have a clear understanding of our past to understand our future, we have our Sankofa leadership, where we even intentionally use the word "Sankofa," which means to go back and fetch or go back and get. So, we have our teens, who will be working on a podcast. And they are going to be sharing that the community on the needs and using their voice. But also, they'll be working with our storytelling group and connecting with the elders just to have that foundation of what has happened and to give them that roadmap or what can be done in the future as well.

Rylee Barnsdale: I love this throughline, too, of alongside the intergenerational piece of the work that you're doing of self-advocacy and pride in the community that you're living in. You've mentioned the West Willow Park. This was a project that was entirely spearheaded by the community and with OYA there to assist with the township kind of side of things and the money acquisition those pieces. So, I mean, what a wonderful way to take pride in your community and be able to say, "Hey! Yes! I made that change happen!" I mean, especially for younger folks too and older folks as well. But, it's really wonderful work!

Akin Oluwadare: Yeah. And I think that's the beauty, too, because the majority of folks who participate in the program that we do are from the West Village neighborhood, and they have that pride in their neighborhood. And they can walk to the program. They can walk and see each other and know each other. I think that's a unique piece of the work that we do. We are not really focused on expanding large, but more so because every community is very different. Even when you're talking around the 48198/48197, you have to take a unique approach to each community. And West Willow is very unique, especially going back to that intergenerational piece. There's a lot of elders and a lot of youth. So, all the work that we do, we really try to use that as a focal point and then build out.

Rylee Barnsdale: So, it sounds like the work OYA is up to, that's going to stick around West Willow for the time being.

Akin Oluwadare: Yeah. In all the Sankofa leadership, the food pantry, the summer camp, all those pieces have been vocalized by community members. It hasn't been something where it's been like, "Hey, we're going to do this!" These have been needs that's been addressed. And in terms of other communities, yes, but it needs to be done very intentionally. And that takes time.

Akin Oluwadare, Rylee Barnsdale, and Akin's father Bambo Oluwadare at the WEMU studio.
Mat Hopson
/
89.1 WEMU
Akin Oluwadare, Rylee Barnsdale, and Akin's father Bambo Oluwadare at the WEMU studio.

Rylee Barnsdale: Well, thank you so much for being here today, Akin! We look forward to seeing how OYA and, hopefully by extension, West Willow, the neighborhood itself, continues to thrive in 2025, in this new year!

Akin Oluwadare: Yes!

Rylee Barnsdale: For more information on today's topic and links to the full article, visit our website at wemu.org. On the Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Rylee Barnsdale, and this is your community NPR station, 89 one WEMU FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcast!

Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support.  Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.

Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)

Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org

Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.
Related Content
  • The Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority's "Explore Ypsi" Initiative finished its third year this holiday season. It is a program in partnership with EMU intended to help new students and faculty get off campus to explore Ypsilanti and get connected with local business owners. For this week’s “On the Ground Ypsi,” Concentrate Media’s Rylee Barnsdale is joined by Ypsilanti DDA executive director Elize Jekabson to explain how the program works, how it has evolved in its third year and what the future may hold.
  • While the Ypsilanti Freighthouse serves as a daytime warming center, the only 24/7 shelter for unhoused members of the Ypsilanti community is the Delonis Center in Ann Arbor. and it has limited beds available. There is ongoing community discussion about the need for a shelter on the eastern side of Washtenaw County. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale that need and what's being done about it with Lindsay Calka. She's the managing director of Groundcover News, a publication giving voice to low-income residents.
  • A new program has launched at the Ypsilanti Community Family Life Center to provide local Black male youth and young adults with accessible trauma informed therapy. Based at Grace Fellowship Church, the Interventions for African American Males (I-AMM) program works to increase pro-social behaviors and address gun violence, generational trauma and substance abuse and depression. Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale discussed the program with its founder, clinical therapist Leah Mills, for this week's "On the Ground Ypsi."