Episode 138: Do What You Can with Jane Olson

World Citizen: Journeys of a Humanitarian

Jane Olson was a middle-aged mother of three who took a leap of faith and pursued volunteer humanitarian work in her mid-forties. After dropping off her youngest child at college, she boarded a plane to Russia which was only the beginning of her journey.  

She traveled to Ukraine and Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to the Balkans during ethnic cleansing wars, to Rwanda to see the impact of genocide, and to African nations affected by HIV and other epidemics. 

Jane documented her journeys with her camera and an ever present notebook and bore witness to the struggles of refugees and survivors by observing, and connecting with them with the intuition of a mother.  

She unofficially adopted many of the people she met and became known to them as “Mother Goose”.  She eventually served as Chair of the International Board of Human Rights Watch and co-chair of the Women's Refugee Commission.  

Jane is now 80 years old. And she has written a memoir titled World Citizen: Journeys of a Humanitarian.  

I'm so honored to have had the chance to talk to Jane about her humanitarian journey and why she was urgently compelled to write this book now. 

If you are interested in learning more about Jane Olson or getting a copy of her book visit her Website. 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Human Rights 75 Initiative