Remembering Evan Witty, Looking Forward with EGBOK Mission

When Evan Witty finished up at the University of Dayton in the spring of 2008, he was already preparing for his next adventure.

I caught up with him after graduation, back home in suburban Chicago. Evan told me he had this burning desire to really put what he had learned into action. The idea of a setting up a personal challenge wasn’t unique for Evan, but I could tell his urge was stronger this time. This was really important.

He had settled on a volunteer position at an orphanage in Cambodia.

A few weeks later, Evan was packing his bags. I didn’t know much about the details but I did know he would be based in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. Evan would teach math classes to young students and help prepare them to finish school so they could leave the orphanage and pursue jobs.

As it turned out, I was packing my own bags for another part of Asia. I wrote Evan to say I looked forward to flying down from China for a visit in the fall. Evan’s emails made his work with nearly 100 students at a place called Palm Tree Orphanage sound incredible.

Here’s how Evan closed one note in August 2008, maybe six weeks after he arrived:

“I have become a pretty serious teacher and spend a lot of my day in the classroom but as I am sure you could expect I still find plenty of time to play.

Alright homie, I gotta go fill up water balloons, we are having a water balloon fight tonight…”

When I finally visited Evan in Phnom Penh that fall, I was floored by how loved and respected he had become. He was out of bed at 5 a.m. to be a volleyball coach. He was king of the playground until it was time to start school. When classes ended for the day, he entertained and tutored and consoled children until the last one fell asleep.

During his time in Cambodia, Evan met Ben Justus, a visitor with a background in hospitality. Several months after Ben’s initial week-long visit to Palm Tree, he made plans to return to begin teaching. He was already beginning to shape his ideas for what would become EGBOK Mission — an organization that would provide students with specific job training and opportunities.

Evan was gearing up for a new challenge — the opportunity to oversee education for all the students at Palm Tree — when a heart condition took his life in April of 2009.

But his memory lives on in the hearts and minds of his friends and his family. Memories of his smile and his dedication are still so strong for all of us.

It’s easy to see that dedication in each EGBOK Mission volunteer. EGBOK’s volunteers share the drive Evan had — a burning, work-until-you-can’t-keep-your-eyes-open sense of commitment — to offer a helping hand to young people who work equally as hard to turn the bad hand they’ve been dealt into a winner.

That’s why Evan’s friends and family are looking forward to welcoming several EGBOK Mission volunteers, as well as dozens of friends from various parts of the country, at our annual memorial this weekend.

This Saturday, old friends, new friends, and their families will come together in a park that overlooks the expansive blue of Lake Michigan in Winnetka, just north of Chicago. There’s a bench in that park that forever honors our dear friend.

There’s a spot on that bench for you, your friends and your family.

- David Klatt