Daniel has cerebral palsy and, when offered a wish from the Starlight Foundation, wanted to use it to help the orangutans. This is part of the transcript from "Australia Story"on ABCTV last week:
PENNY CLARKE, MOTHER: Early in 2007 we were approached by one of the mums who went to Daniel’s school, and she wanted to offer Daniel a wish through the Starlight Foundation.
RODNEY CLARKE, FATHER: We said to Daniel, well, yes, "What would you like? Would you like a new car for Daddy? Or would you like to go to Disneyland or something like that?" And after a while, he came back to us and he said, "I really want to save the orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra. That’s my wish".
LEAH WALSH, STARLIGHT FOUNDATION VOLUNTEER: Here was a ten year old boy who, rather than ask for something for himself, was asking for the most selfless thing I’d ever heard of in, you know, my career as a wish-granting volunteer.
RODNEY CLARKE, FATHER: Even though this wish was so grandiose, and perhaps even really far-fetched, it was still... as a child it was still his dream.
DANIEL CLARKE: I thought this is my chance to really make a difference to the orangutans
.
PENNY CLARKE, MOTHER: Since he was probably about three he’d watch all the Steve Irwin DVDs – we’ve got every single one at home
.
LEAH WALSH, STARLIGHT FOUNDATION VOLUNTEER: My initial reaction was, "How on earth am I going to possibly grant such a wish?"
PENNY CLARKE, MOTHER: The Starlight Foundation said, "We really apologise, but we can’t do any overseas wishes. But, you know, we can send you up to Australia Zoo, and we can send you to a Wallabies match."
JOHN HOWARD, FORMER PRIME MINISTER : I met Daniel in the dressing room after a Wallabies match in May 2007.
I didn't see the program, but was alerted to it by this story in The Hills News:
Great story!
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