Make-A-Wish helps Des Plaines girl create, record mystery podcast at WBEZ
While a lot of kids ask Make-A-Wish for a trip to Disneyland, no one had ever asked the group to help create a podcast — until, that is, a 5-year-old girl from Des Plaines came along.
The kindergartner's five-minute “mystery” podcast — which by Friday night already had nearly 3,000 plays on SoundCloud — begins with her sweet, juvenile voice:
“My name is Azka. Azka Sharief. And I am doing a podcast on a story I wrote. The name is …” then Azka pauses for suspense and her voice lowers to a hush: “The Stealer of the Diamonds.”
Azka recorded the podcast last week at WBEZ-FM (91.5) after working on the script last weekend with Sun-Times editor Rummana Hussain. It tells the tale of a robber named Tessa who stole “diamonds, purses, wallets, money from the bank” and even “candy from babies.”
Azka, who attends Adlai E. Stevenson Elementary School in Des Plaines, has a metabolic condition.
“We really had the time of our lives at WBEZ, and they put Azka in the limelight, which she really enjoyed,” her mother said. “If we had some sort of Disney package or something, it would not have been the same experience, I know for sure.”
• For the complete story, visit chicago.suntimes.com.