Author Jane Olson, left, stands with a woman named Duru, which means “mother of pearl.” They are shown in a reed shack in Azerbaijan, where Duru lived with her daughter and three grandchildren in 1994. A luxury is the electric cord from which a rare light bulb dangled. This photo is shown on the cover of World Citizen: Journeys of a Humanitarian, Olson’s book, which was published in 2022. Jane Olson will sign her books at the culmination of a presentation she’ll give at 6:30 p.m. on November 12 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake.

Members of the Storm Lake and area communities have the opportunity to meet Jane Olson, author of “World Citizen: Journeys of a Humanitarian,” as she offers insight and inspirational accounts from decades of work in human rights across the world. Olson’s appearance takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, in Anderson Auditorium on the campus of Buena Vista University. Admission is free and open to the public.

The Book Vine of Cherokee will have copies of “World Citizen” available for purchase, copies which may be signed by the author that evening. Net proceeds from the sale of the 2022 book are earmarked for humanitarian and human rights organizations designated by Olson.

Jane Olson, a native of Denison, has worked for many decades, giving volunteer leadership to significant international human rights and humanitarian organizations. She has traveled all over the world into war zones and places riddled by extreme poverty, economic and political strife, to meet and support traumatized victims and survivors, especially vulnerable women and children.  

As a journalist, Olson recorded their stories and took the many photos found in every chapter of her book, “World Citizen, Journeys of a Humanitarian.” In the book’s prologue, Olson writes: “During decades of travel with humanitarian and human rights organizations to war zones and other devastated places around the world, I relied on an inner strength that was rooted in nurtured in rural western Iowa. In the small town where I grew up, learned humility, for sure, and I also learned the importance of every member of a community.”

She knitted, sang, celebrated, worshipped, and administered care to victims far from the home she shares with her husband, Ron, in southern California. The daughter of a World War II veteran, Olson watched newsreels between movies on Saturday afternoons at the cinemas in downtown Denison. She was captivated by sights, sounds, and the seemingly adventurous streak of the Korean War, never noticing that no war correspondents were women.

Newsreels also showed former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who often reported on the human condition for her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The former First Lady visited the poorest among us and became the conscience of our nation.

“I felt personal pride in her leadership role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and creating the United Nations along with other admirable leaders,” Olson writes.

She went on to emulate Eleanor Roosevelt, taking paths less traveled and often rife with danger while administering care to victims of assault, disease, war, and ethnic cleansing in places such as Bosnia, Ukraine, Nicaragua, Cuba, Croatia, Ghana, Yugoslavia, Malawi, Northern Ireland, Uganda, and more.

Sometimes, she simply caressed the head of an infant, or clutched a knitting needle, or purposely held the last line of a well-known nursery rhyme.

“In this memoir,” Olson writes, “I introduce ‘the other’ human beings suffering from extreme violence, disease, and poverty, people I came to love and still carry with me. In the midst of chaos, they taught me the difference between victim and survivor, between fear and hope. They illustrated the healing power of forgiveness, the fundamental importance of justice, and the strength that comes from choosing life.

“Survivors whom I met inspired my deep commitment to doing everything I can to lift up humanity,” she adds. “And because they trusted me with their stories, I carry an obligation to tell those stories, to put faces on victims, and to share the lessons of history that inform and illuminate current conditions, with the fervent hope of making a difference.”

“Jane Olson’s mission dovetails perfectly with BVU’s mission, Education for Service. The idea of carrying stories forward, especially for those who do not have an easy avenue to do so themselves, is critically important,” says Dr. Dixee Bartholomew-Feis, Dean of BVU’s School of Liberal Arts. “As people are caught up in their daily lives, it is easy to forget what is going on in places far from home. It is our obligation to make students aware. Seeing the photographs and hearing the stories of Jane Olson serves as a powerful inspiration for all.”

While chronicling her experiences, Olson served organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the Landmine Survivors Network, having logged a cumulative 18 years as Chair for those entities. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. She also served as Co-chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York and continues to support the organization as a Commissioner.

Prior to her public presentation at Buena Vista University, Olson will lead classes of BVU students, sharing insight and practices related to journalism, storytelling, civics, and interpersonal communication. Simultaneously, Olson’s husband of 62 years, Ron Olson, partner at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Tolles in Los Angeles, will work with BVU business and pre-law students. Ron Olson, a native of Manilla, served as a Director for Berkshire Hathaway for 28 years.

“Ron and I are thrilled to be returning to our ‘home’ in western Iowa to connect with Buena Vista University students, faculty, and members of the Storm Lake community,” Jane Olson said. “We remain eager to connect with students and local residents to gain additional perspectives while making new friends in a community that has welcomed so many courageous individuals from countries I’ve been blessed to experience the past several decades.”