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TALENTED: Henry Ohanga AKA Octopizzo, More about and Videos?

Henry Ohanga, commonly referred to by his stage name Octopizzo is an award winning, recording and perfoming artist, humanitarian and an entrepreneur.
Born in the sprawling slums of Kibera, Nairobi (considered one of the largest slums in the world), he purposed to earnestly pursue his career in music. Octopizzo currently has three albums namely “Chocolate City“, “LDPC” which took the Number 1 spot on iTunes on its first week of release and “Refugeenius” which he collaborated with over 20 Refugees from Kakuma & Dadaab Refugee camps. All these albums are available on iTunes, Tidal and Spotify.

He is now a globally recognized artist who also has a strong passion for community outreach and youth empowerment.

He founded his not-for-profit Octopizzo Foundation in 2015 and through the Foundation, he hopes to use the uniting ingredients of creativity, Art, Music, Culture and Sports to support vulnerable youths to realize their potential and be liberated from the cycle of desperation and dependency.

Octopizzo has performed in major events golabally and has been endorsed as a brand ambassador by several renowed companies like Coca-Cola, Safaricom and Guinness. Equally, he has remained an active performing artist for the past 8 years and has consistently released hit songs every year while gracing some of the biggest festivals like Sauti za Busara, Safaricom Live and Shambala Fest in Manchester just to name a few.

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He has partnered with UNHCR to start a dynamic and powerful initiative – Artists for Refugees, which encompasses his love for music, the Arts and Culture with those of the refugees – it is through their shared love for Art that he has been able to raise the profile of refugee artists and talent in this country.

He is indeed the first Kenyan artist to speak up on refugee matters consistently and in a timely fashion. He has been identified, both in 2014 and 2015 as one of the most influential personalities speaking on refugee matters on social media.

In 2015, he ranked 16th globally as one of the top voices on refugee matters.
His work with United Nations, The American Embassy in Kenya and The British Council in Kenya has seen him attend most vital and global decision making forums on matters of youths and Arts.

Empowering
underprivileged youth
to realize their potential.

“We must harness people’s pride and the fierce determination to live. We must mine the deep source of street wisdom and provide alternative means of decent ‘hustling’ while rebuking the evils of idleness, drug abuse and violence.“

~OCTOPIZZO

Foundation Mission

Octopizzo Foundation’s mission is to be a catalyst for positive transformation of the condition and aspirations of marginalized youth residing in but not limited to urban slums, rural areas and refugee camps. That mission originates in the founder, Henry Ohanga’s firm conviction—based on personal experience—that a wealth of untapped potential resides in these often wretched spaces, where poverty, disease, unemployment and other forms of social neglect and depravity form the backdrop of daily existence.

Octopizzo Foundation aims to build on the gains and experiences of existing projects, namely:

  • Power Women Group Kibera supporting people living with HIV
  • Young Gifted and Black supporting artists selected from across the thirteen villages of Kibera
  • Chocolate City Kibera Tours, showcasing positive aspects of Africa’s largest slum and providing a market for local craftsmen and women to sell their products
  • Artists for Refugees, partnering with UNHCR to mentor young refugees in Kakuma camp to discover and develop their musical talent
  • Advocacy on matters like ending violence against women and girls

Tambua Africa Reporter

Blogger and news writer at Tambua Africa News.

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