The Diocesan Dialogue
Current Issue
August 2007

St.Mark's MDG Connection

By Vicki Evans

It was on a mountain top in Ecuador that Ryan Oliver Hansen experienced a spiritual awakening and calling. He felt very definitively that working with orphans was to be his mission and vocation in life. At the time, he was in the midst of volunteering in a Catholic orphanage in South America for several months.

Ryan Oliver Hansen gets children from New Hope Orphanage ready for participation in the Cameroonian U.S. Embassy's fashion show to celebrate International Anti-Child Labor Day.

After returning from that trip and finishing his bachelor's degree at the University of Utah, and with the support of his home congregation, the Cathedral Church of St. Mark, Ryan set out to answer the 'call.'

In preparation, he began fund-raising in August 2005. He was able to make arrangements to volunteer in an orphanage in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Africa.

In September of that year, he set off on his venture with high spirits, determination and the hope of making a difference in the lives of African children.

Ryan was devastated, however, when upon his arrival at the orphanage he found the children living in deplorable conditions.

His spirits were crushed upon witnessing the abuse that was being perpetrated by the woman who was administering the corrupt orphanage.

Miraculously, Ryan was eventually able to legally and safely remove many of the children. He and his brother founded the non-profit corporation Green Eyes in Africa, Inc. and Ryan found a house to rent in order to establish a new orphanage. All the while, St. Mark's has been there, helping meet the Millennium Development Goals in very real, direct ways through parishioner Ryan Hansen.

With the New Hope Orphanage, the children have clean, safe surroundings. They receive nutritious meals, and are regular school attendees. Good hygiene and health habits are being modeled for them. They are being taught about gender equality and provided an environment for dreaming big dreams about their futures.

Best of all, the children are in a place where they are loved. They are aware that the people of St. Mark's and Utah pray for them and care about what happens to them.

For more information and photos, go to www.greeneyesinafrica.org.

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