Posts in category: Projects

Dear friends of Ryan’s Rays,

As the year comes to a close, we at Ryan’s Rays want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible impact we’ve made together this past year. Your generosity and commitment to our mission have brought hope, joy, and life-changing opportunities to countless children around the world.

In 2023, we are thrilled to share a momentous achievement with you—the opening of Ryan’s Place, a care center that provides both inpatient and outpatient care for children living with disabilities located at Hope of Life International in Guatemala. This incredible facility serves as a beacon of hope for children living with disabilities in the region, providing comprehensive and compassionate care and fostering a sense of belonging. We are already witnessing the transformative impact of Ryan’s Place, with over 100 children receiving the specialized care they need. This project would not have been possible without your support, and we are profoundly grateful for your commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of these children.

But our journey doesn’t end here. We are excited to share our latest initiative – creating an accessible playground directly beside Ryan’s Place. This playground will be a space where children with disabilities can play, learn, and interact in an environment designed to meet their unique needs. We believe that play is a fundamental right for every child, and your support can help make this dream a reality.

As we approach the end of the year, we invite you to consider making a year-end donation to support this transformative project. Your contribution will not only enhance the lives of children with disabilities but also create a lasting legacy of inclusivity and joy.

As we celebrate the holiday season and look forward to the new year, we extend our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones. Thank you for being a source of light and hope for children in need.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Edward de Groot
Vice-Chair
Ryan’s Rays

Dear supporters of Ryan’s Rays,

In a recent interview with Nick Vujicic, an inspirational speaker born with no arms or legs, he discussed the appropriate response to unanswered prayer. Nick said one thing in particular that helped me put Ryan’s loss in perspective with the enormous global impact Ryan’s Rays has had over these last six years. To paraphrase, how dare we put God in a box and declare that our plans are better than his? Just last week, family and friends gathered to celebrate Ryan’s birthday. While we may not always appreciate it, it provides some comfort that God’s plan for the impact Ryan would have on this world is much bigger than ours.

Since we began this journey, we have raised over $400k to build 10 classrooms impacting over 4200 children across three continents. Beyond the numbers, many supporters of Ryan’s Rays have been blessed to witness this impact firsthand in Ethiopia, Guatemala, and here at home. And it’s all because of the gift of one beautiful young boy named Ryan. This year alone, we completed our largest fundraiser, raising $95k to construct an inclusive preschool within the Hope of Life campus in Zacapa, Guatemala. We are pleased to announce that construction has been completed, and the school is set to accept the first group of students this January! Thanks to your generous donations, children will attend a school where inclusiveness is “normal” in their educational journey.

Care Center

Recently, we started raising funds for our new project, a care center that will allow Hope of Life International to serve more children living with disabilities. This care center will provide short-term and long-term care, including daily medical support, specialized nutrition, physiotherapy, psychological care, and lots of love. So far, we have raised over $50k toward our target of $145k. For those looking to make a year-end contribution, we encourage you to learn more about this project and donate to this cause.

Looking forward to 2023, we are hopeful that we will once again be able to gather in person to raise funds for this and other projects. The need for inclusiveness both here and around the world remains large. Thank you for your continued prayers and contributions to this cause.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish you peace, health, and happiness in the coming year.

Edward de Groot
Vice-Chair
Ryan’s Rays

Dear supporters of Ryan’s Rays,

What a year it has been. A few short weeks ago, I intended to write this update from a family trip to sunny California. Once again, Covid has played havoc on our plans, and likely not for the last time. Ryan’s Rays has gone another year without a gala, and it’s almost certain we won’t have one this spring.

Nevertheless, hope for the new year remains and we continue to consider ourselves blessed even in these dark times. You have been gracious in your generosity, and for that, we are grateful. As the year comes to a close, it is worth looking back at the impact you have helped us achieve.

Snoezelen Carts

In June, we raised $20,000 to purchase two Snoezelen Carts for the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre. These carts provide a therapeutic resource for children within the Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation Program and the Autism Spectrum Disorders Program. They will have a tremendous impact on those children and their families who visit the centre frequently for support, as Ryan and his family once did.

Inclusive Preschool

Our current campaign is to raise $95,000 towards building an inclusive preschool within the Hope of Life campus in Zacapa, Guatemala. The intent is to make inclusiveness “normal” in a child’s educational journey from the start. Thanks to your generous donations, we have raised over $80,000 so far, and we are excited to share that Hope of Life has broken ground on construction! For those looking to make some additional contributions in 2021, we ask you to consider this project in your year-end giving.

As we look towards the future, we remain hopeful that, at some point, we are able to gather together again in person. The need for inclusiveness both here and around the world remains large. Even with the escalating tensions in Ethiopia, we are grateful that a new school year has begun and the CDU we helped build is open once again. Thank you for your continued prayers and contributions to this cause.

On behalf of the Ryan’s Rays Board of Directors, I wish you peace, health, and happiness in the year to come.

Edward de Groot
Vice-Chair
Ryan’s Rays

Through the process of finding a new home for Ryan’s walker, we were reminded of the beauty and the hope that can be found when we reach out and connect to each other.

An Education in Tinkering

On our first evening in Haiti, Dwayne and our new friend, Nathan Freeland (from Joni & Friends California), had a fun time reassembling Ryan’s walker using about six different tools! We were staying at Pastor Richard’s house who lives just outside Port au Prince.

We Are All Connected

It didn’t take too long for the theme of this trip to become clear – it was all about meeting new people and making connections. Through our partnership with Joni and Friends, we were introduced to Greg Barshaw who was once on their board and now runs Connect2Ministries. Through Greg we had the opportunity to visit some of the places that his organization helps to fund, including one particular orphanage in Delmas 31.

A New Home for Ryan’s Walker

It’s been just over a week since we visited the orphanage in Delmas 31 and, I won’t lie, the memory of it still haunts me. We had just spent the better part of our day visiting various organizations that are involved in providing health care, education and nutrition programs in the area. We had met so many different people, had seen so many signs of vibrant life and yet had also seen so many reminders of the challenges that still exist because of the poverty and frequent natural disasters that occur in Haiti. Delmas 31 is a bustling area and the orphanage is situated in the middle of a busy street. No book or movie could ever have adequately prepared us for what we were about to experience. We came through a gate and then a narrow walkway into a courtyard where we smiled at the faces of children whose names we will never know. We heard all sorts of noises and smelled all sorts of smells. All the while, feeling fairly helpless about not being able to convey the value that we truly felt for these children. We were quickly surrounded by children and adults who were curious to find out why we were visiting them. After a bit of conversation with the staff, we were brought to a little boy named Samuel who was immediately lifted into Ryan’s walker. We weren’t sure if this would be the final or the only recipient of Ryan’s walker, but we were encouraged to know that there is likely no shortage of children who will make good use of it in the years to come.

After we said goodbye to Samuel and his friends, I struggled to make sense of what I had seen and the jumble of emotions that I was feeling. In the middle of a busy lively town, was a small simple home where a group of children with all sorts of disabilities lived. Children who would have otherwise been discarded or hospitalized or dead. Their home and their quality of life is so far from what we would ever want it to be for them. And yet in the middle of their very real suffering, I have to believe that their being in that home is the best life possible for them at this time. And that somehow, through all the brokenness and sadness, they are able to know love and hope through the relationships they share with each other. Though our visit with them was short, the gift of Ryan’s walker that we left with Samuel, will live on far longer. It symbolizes a new connection made. A tangible expression of love and encouragement across the distance.