Chris and his Canadian bride have their NY marriage blessed here, then it's off to Zambia

A GUERNSEYMAN and his Canadian wife are visiting the island before moving to Zambia.

Chris Hann, 24, and wife Erin, 26, were married in Central Park, New York, in August.

A former Notre Dame, Vauvert and Grammar School student, Mr Hann has recently graduated from Canada's Brock University with a degree in political science.

His wife completed a master's degree in social and international development at her hometown university of Guelph in the province of Ontario.

The couple had their marriage blessed in Guelph in October and, while in Guernsey, it will be blessed at the L'Islet Salvation Army Fortress hall.

'Our families are in two different countries and we considered a lot of different options when we got married, including a beach wedding or one on neutral territory,' said Mr Hann.

'But for various reasons we thought it would be more adventurous to get married in Central Park.

'The blessings were a way of ensuring we would be able to celebrate our wedding with family and friends on both sides of the Atlantic.'

They were successful with an application to International Salvation Army Headquarters for a posting for community development and will begin a two-year contract in Zambia in September.

'We will be specialising in a lot of the things we did in our degrees and this will be about applying it in a practical situation,' said Mr Hann.

They will be working on HIV/Aids projects, micro-finance schemes, health care, Fairtrade and whatever else is needed.

The couple will have a house in the Salvation Army's walled compound in the Zambian capital of Lusaka.

Both have been to Africa before but while Mrs Hann has spent three days in Zambia, her husband has never been there.

Mr Hann said he was aware of the Chikankata hospital development in the southern region of the country but knew very little about the rest of the country.