It Shouldn’t End at the Beginning

May 12, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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If you’re a parent you can probably remember the hopes and dreams you had when your child first entered the world. You held that little one close and were probably amazed at the overwhelming sense of love you felt.

Imagine being a parent in a developing country. Do you think that such a parent would feel any less love than you did on that day? Of course not. So now imagine knowing that statistically your child could die during their first few years from conditions and diseases that are preventable in developed nations. Devastating.

If you could save the life of a neighbour’s child, would you do it? Would you make every effort to save them? So, who is your neighbour?

Today is Compassion Day. Radio stations around Australia are appealing for support for the excellent work carried out around the world by Compassion Australia.

Please take a little time to watch the video above and then head to the Compassion Day website to start saving little lives.

I saw the Child Survival Program in action in Dominican Republic back in 2008. It makes a huge difference. Compassion deserves our support today.



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Stan Walker on Compassion Day

April 29, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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2009 Australian Idol Stan WalkerOn Sunday 22 November 2009, 19 year old Stan Walker’s life changed forever. He became the 2009 Australian Idol.

His first single Black Box was an instant hit. His album Introducing Stan Walker was released late last year. His new single Unbroken has just been released and is receiving airplay around Australia.

International superstar Michael Bublé was one of the guest mentors for Australian Idol 2009 and after meeting Stan and hearing him sing he said, “That voice is like God kissed his throat. It’s hard when you’re a singer and you meet a better singer than you and you have to come up and mentor them.” After one performance during Idol he left Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte speechless. Joel said that listening to Walker sing made him want to sing R&B music and Benji said he’d watch him perform wheather he won the competition or not. Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy told Stan that if he had no where to go after Idol to give him a call.

Stan joined me on the phone this morning on 98.5 Sonshine FM to talk about his new single as well as his very recent trip to earthquake affected Haiti.

Today is Compassion Day so Stan took the opportunity to urge listeners to sponsor a child through Compassion Australia. You can hear our conversation by clicking on the play button of the audio player at the bottom of this post.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR290410_1408.mp3]

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1600 Reasons to Respond

April 29, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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Compassion Day 2010If you’ve had something to eat today … if you had somewhere to sleep last night … if you know where your next meal is coming from … please take just a few minutes to consider being part of Compassion Day 2010.

Throughout today a number of radio stations across Australia are encouraging listeners to sacrifice $44 a month to change the world one child at a time. As someone who has seen the work of Compassion first hand, I can assure you that this is vital work which is quite literally saving lives.

Compassion does amazing work and when you sponsor a child through Compassion you are impacting many people in the life of that child. You can help turn a whole community around by the simple act of sponsoring a child.

If you have children of your own this is a great start in teaching them the responsibility we have to reach out to those in less fortunate circumstances. It’s such a joy to hear our son James pray for Collens, our sponsored child in Haiti, every night.

On Thursday, April 29 radio listeners across the nation will have 1600 reasons to respond when stations join forces with Compassion to see 1600 children sponsored in just 16 hours. This year’s focus is on the children of East Africa, specifically Kenya, where 20 per cent of the population lives below the international poverty line, 1.2 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, 2.5 million children are orphans and where a third of women between 15 and 49 have suffered from genital mutilation.

This is the eleventh year for Compassion Day and we’re hoping that Australia wide 1600 children will be saved from poverty. Will you be part of Compassion Day by sponsoring a child?



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Compassion Day 2009

May 12, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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If you’ve had something to eat today … if you had somewhere to sleep last night … if you know where your next meal is coming from … please take just a few minutes to watch this video promoting Compassion Day 2009.

This Thursday from 6:00 a.m. radio stations across Australia will be encouraging listeners to sacrifice $44 a month to change the world one child at a time. As someone who has seen the work of Compassion first hand, I can assure you that this is vital work which is quite literally saving lives.

On Compassion Day 09, we want to bring hope for the hungry and will focus on Bangladesh and Ethiopia, two of the countries hardest hit by the current global food crisis that is forcing millions more people into extreme poverty.

In Ethiopia, it is estimated that 4.5 million people need emergency food assistance, reviving memories of the country’s tragic famine in the 1980s that grabbed international attention and sparked the Live Aid concerts. In Bangladesh, 95 per cent of Compassion assisted children are affected by the crisis. The price of rice has risen by 90 per cent in a country where the average family consumes 3kg of rice a day.

This is the tenth year for Compassion Day and we’re hoping that Australia wide 1500 children will be saved from poverty.



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Remembering Ada

April 15, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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SantoDomingo.jpg

I’ve interviewed dozens of famous singers, authors, personalities, politicians and celebrities over the years but if I had the chance to choose one moment from my radio career so far that stands high above the others it is the opportunity to tell Ada’s story.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been looking back at my visit to Haiti and Dominican Republic with Compassion Australia in April last year. The story of Ada will break your heart then give you renewed hope in the difference that each one of us can make in the lives of others.

I beg you to take just fourteen minutes to listen to Ada’s story.

If you want to hear something to lift your spirits just click play on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

The whole story is worth hearing but I’ll warn you now that it will really start to touch your heart around half way through.

Ada is a girl I met and interviewed in Dominican Republic. She was a beautiful twelve year old with a bright future. I wish I could show you the picture I had taken with the two of us but I prefer to keep her identity somewhat private. You’ll understand why as you listen.

I talked to Ada, I visited her home and talked to her parents. I’m sure that all of us that visited her home on that day will remember the warm hug she gave each one of us as we left. She is a remarkable young girl.

I managed to track down her sponsor in Australia and shared Ada’s story with her. Lisa’s reaction to hearing her sponsored child’s voice is priceless. Hearing Lisa describe how she feels when she hears just how much of an impact she has had on Ada’s life is inspiring.

I don’t know what else I can say but to again beg that you take the time to hear this amazing story.



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