From a Small Radio to a Big Studio
| Photos by Ty Van Rensburg and Courtesy of Marcus Rixon
How sponsors helped turn a boy’s love for music into a successful career.
Marcus Rixon was born in South Asia, where crushing poverty brings economic instability and social injustices.
His parents couldn’t afford his school fees. So they prayed for a way to provide for him. The answer to their prayers came when Marcus was sponsored through the nonprofit OneChild. Marcus was now able to go to school and received encouragement from his sponsors David and Regina Wilkes.
Marcus cannot fathom what life would have been like without his sponsors’ help. “I don’t think I would be alive, first of all; I would’ve gotten into the wrong crowd,” he says, “or inherited my father’s job working as a laborer somewhere.”
Marcus grew up without a television, but a small radio ignited his love for music and helped him “forget about the four walls” of the 12-foot-by-6-foot space his family of four living in poverty called home. Participating in talent shows and chapel services at school also deepened his interest in music.
See the powerful moment when Marcus met his sponsors
Video by Ty Van Rensburg.
After high school Marcus came to the U.S. to attend college. In 2014 Marcus graduated from Asbury College with a bachelor’s degree in media communications and audio production. Today, he is married to his wife, Abby, they have a son, Elliot, and Marcus is managing Christian artists’ careers. Grateful for these blessings, Marcus says he wants to “extend his hand to others in need.”
“I felt like I had a friend in a different part of the world that actually cared for me … and now where I am, I can see how important it is,” Marcus says. “It’s not sponsoring a kid; it’s sponsoring a generation.” It’s that caring that brings hope to kids in hard places.
In 2018, Marcus was delighted to meet his sponsors in person during a surprise visit. Marcus and his sponsors still keep in touch, and David even stopped by Marcus’ office with a baby gift for Elliot.
These days, Marcus looks for ways to give back. Last Christmas he purchased gifts for a group of orphans his parents serve in their hometown. He also shares his story with audiences to encourage others to sponsor children — and is living proof of the power and hope of sponsorship.
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Our accountability to our donors is one of our highest priorities. Our goal is to use the funds entrusted to us as wise stewards. To do this requires continued monitoring of our fund distribution. OneChild is also a member in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)
