Emmanuel International Canada
Encyclopedia
Emmanuel International Canada (EICanada or EIC) is a non-governmental
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

, non-profit, evangelical Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

  relief organization whose purpose is to strengthen and assist local churches in developing countries to holistically meet the social, physical, emotional and spiritual needs of their communities.

History

Emmanuel International (EI) is Emmanuel International Canada’s parent organization and was founded in 1975 by George Middleton and Dorothea Middleton, a couple who were former missionaries to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. During the early 1970s, Ethiopia was devastated by the Wollo Famine
Famines in Ethiopia
Traditionally the Economy of Ethiopia was based on subsistence agriculture, with an aristocracy that consumed the surplus. Due to a number of causes, the peasants lacked incentives to either improve production or to store their excess harvest; as a result, they lived from harvest to harvest.Despite...

. While the Middletons were in the country, they became aware of the effective contribution young people together with local churches could make for eradicating the cycle of poverty, and formed EI for the purposes of putting this vision into action.
In the early days of the organization, EI was involved in sending teams of trained young people overseas to assist relief efforts in developing countries such as Ethiopia and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

. The organization quickly branched out their humanitarian work to include community development and sustainability projects in countries such as Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

 and Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

. Over time, EI expanded its humanitarian efforts across the globe, and currently has active projects in 8 countries worldwide, including 5 in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Since its inception, Emmanuel International and its national offices have built a reputable track record of bringing hope to millions of people in desperate circumstances.
EICanada was formed in 1983 as a national office of Emmanuel International. EICanada functions as a recruiting, fundraising and promotional agency for the overseas work of the whole organization.

Development Work

The four main categories EICanada concentrates its work are: disaster relief, disaster rehabilitation, sustainable community development and Christian ministries. Through these areas of service and outreach, EICanada works with local churches to meet the specific needs of rural communities, and the needs of the whole person – social, physical, emotional and spiritual.
By approaching their development work in this way, EICanada has succeeded in building positive relationships with the nationals in their project countries. This has ensured that the programs and activities being carried out are relevant for the needs of the locals and that the projects will be received positively and sustained over time.

Rainwater Harvesting Project in Tanzania

EICanada’s Rainwater Harvesting project is a part of their sustainable community development program in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. In 2007, at the request of the Anglican Diocese of Ruaha
Anglican Church of Tanzania
The Anglican Church of Tanzania is a member of the Anglican Communion based in Dodoma. It consists of 26 dioceses headed by their respective bishops. It seceded from the Province of East Africa in 1970, which it shared with Kenya...

, their partner church fellowship in Tanzania, EICanada commenced construction on the project in Uhambingeto, 45 kilometres northeast of the city of Iringa in Iringa Region at the Uhambingeto pre-school and health care centre.
In Tanzania, there are two rainy seasons, a heavy season from March – May and a lighter season from November – January, with long dry seasons in between. The issue for Uhambingeto village (along with many other rural Tanzanian villages) is that there is not a local clean water source in the community. This becomes particularly problematic during the dry season, hindering the effectiveness of the community’s health and education systems, and leaving the villagers vulnerable to disease and academic difficulties.

EICanada was able to implement harvesting technology that provided a collection and storage system for the rainwater so it can be used by the schools and the community when it is most needed. Rainwater is collected off of the roofs of the schools by drain pipes and stored in tanks made of cement bricks, which have attached spout stations for easy access to the supply. The group of tanks that were installed in 2007 can collectively hold a total of 70,000 litres of rainwater. EICanada provided the villagers with training on how to duplicate and maintain this simple technology and how to use the stored water responsibly.
The project was successful and as a result, EICanada in partnership with the Diocese of Ruaha was able to provide the residents of Uhambingeto with a clean water source that benefitted the entire community of approximately 10,000 people. In 2010, additional rainwater harvesting tanks were installed at the primary and secondary schools of Uhambingeto, and EICanada is in the process of constructing tanks in other Tanzanian villages.

2010 Haiti Earthquake Relief Program

EICanada has been actively working in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

 in partnership with the Oeuvre Evangelique Baptist Bethesda (OEBB) fellowship of churches since 1978. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake on 12 January 2010
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...

, EICanada’s in-country representatives went right to work distributing relief supplies and assisting with the search and rescue efforts. Within days of the earthquake, an emergency response team was able to be sent from EICanada, under the leadership of the International Director. This emergency response team helped to network and distribute various relief supplies, including food, water and medicine, to 15,000 people at the OEBB’s 10 community centres. EICanada also partnered with ShelterBox
ShelterBox
ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that provides portable refuge to disaster victims around the world. Since 2001, it has worked in more than 45 countries, supplying aid to more than 600,000 people, and delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by...

, who provided 30 tents to the OEBB, supplying 150 people with desperately-needed shelter. An additional 600 tents and tarpaulins were sourced from the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

, which were used for sheltering families and providing classroom space for needy schoolchildren. Other EICanada teams were sent to Haiti over the next few months as the relief and rehabilitation efforts continued. During the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, EICanada’s donor family responded generously to the urgent need in Haiti, raising funds and donating numerous in-kind gifts of food, water, aid, supplies and medicine for the organization’s relief and rehabilitation program.

In the time since the earthquake, EICanada has remained committed to helping Haitians rebuild their lives and livelihoods in the wake of the disaster, and will continue to stand by the Haitian people into the future. During the second stabilization phase of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Program (beginning on 15 April 2010, which will be an ongoing process), EICanada concentrated their rehabilitation efforts in several areas, including:

  • securing vehicles for transporting supplies
  • properly demolishing damaged buildings for sound reconstruction purposes
  • re-opening the OEBB-sponsored primary schools
  • implementing a feeding program for needy primary school students (providing 1800+ students with a properly cooked and nutritious meal at least three times weekly)
  • implementing a program to supplement school fees for needy families as well as teaching salaries

The third phase of the Haiti Earthquake Relief program, which began in July 2010, is expected to take at least a few years to complete, and focuses on reconstructing damaged and/or destroyed homes, schools and churches within the OEBB network. EICanada is dedicated to supporting and seeing the OEBB and the Haitian people through this process, with a goal to help them, “move from despair to confidence and stability”.
In response to the ongoing cholera outbreak, which began in October 2010, EICanada organized public health education clinics, chlorinated clean water stations, preventative hygiene kits, and stockpiles of emergency cholera treatment supplies (oral rehydration salt solution, zinc supplements, etc.) for rural areas where access to established cholera treatment centres is restricted. These initiatives have allowed EICanada to reach and provide aid for 11,000 needy Haitians.

Christian Ministry

Emmanuel International Canada is an inter-denominational evangelical Christian organization. EICanada partners with local churches in its project countries to address and implement practical physical and spiritual solutions for the specific needs of rural communities in developing countries. EICanada’s Christian ministry provides the foundation for the organization’s development efforts. The organization is committed to meeting the needs of people regardless of their race, gender, age, colour or religion.
EICanada’s Christian ministry projects include church planting, evangelism, leadership development, discipleship, theological education and Bible school training.

Project Countries & National Offices

Emmanuel International has projects in 8 countries around the world: Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Haiti, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

, Tanzania, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. EI’s national offices are located in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Brazil, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 (EICanada), Malawi, the Philippines, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.
The International Office’s role is to manage, administer, and coordinate the affairs of EI around the world in cooperation with the EI national offices. The International Office shares office space with EICanada in Stouffville, Ontario
Stouffville, Ontario
Stouffville is the primary urban area within the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is centred at the intersection of Main Street, Mill Street and Market Street.-History:...

, north of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. The role of each national office is to manage and coordinate the work of EI in the project countries, recruit personnel and raise funds for EI-sponsored project country programs.

Fundraising


One of EICanada’s main functions as a national office is to raise funds for the purposes of financially implementing and sustaining the organization’s various overseas projects. Donors can give directly to EICanada’s projects through their website (http://www.eicanada.org), telephone (toll free - 1.866.269.6312), and mail (PO Box 4050 Stouffville, Ontario, Canada L4A 8B6).
In addition to traditional financial support for specific projects, EICanada gladly accepts relevant gifts-in-kind in partnership with donor companies, foundations, churches and individuals. EICanada also has a number of other opportunities for donors to demonstrate their support for the organization’s projects, including online donations.
EICanada has a fund-matching program through the Canadian Partnership Branch of the Canadian International Development Agency
Canadian International Development Agency
The Canadian International Development Agency was formed in 1968 by the Canadian government. CIDA administers foreign aid programs in developing countries, and operates in partnership with other Canadian organizations in the public and private sectors as well as other international organizations...

 (CIDA). Every CIDA-approved EICanada project receives two-thirds of the funds needed from the Canadian government to finance the project.
EICanada is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency – Charity # 11889 9277 RR0001.

Memberships

  • Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA): http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/home
  • EQUIP Leadership Canada: http://equipleadership.ca/index.php
  • The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada: http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca
  • Link Charity Canada Inc.: http://www.linkcharity.ca
  • Vision 2020 Canada: http://www.vision2020canada.ca/en/Pages/default.aspx


Multimedia

  • Maranatha News interview with EICanada Executive Director Richard McGowan: http://www.maranathanewspaper.com/html/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1242694702&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
  • Daytime York Region interview with EICanada Executive Director Richard McGowan & Project Coordinator Michael Botting: http://www.eicanada.org/index.html
  • Rogers TV Community Connections interview with EICanada Executive Director Richard McGowan: http://www.eicanada.org/index.html
  • FAN 590 radio station media advisory: http://www.isr590.com/story.asp?story_ID=1391


Anne of Green Gables

The EICanada headquarters property in Stouffville, Ontario was one of the filming locations for the 1985 television movie Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables (1985 film)
Anne of Green Gables is a 1985 television movie based on the novel of the same name by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The film was produced and directed by Kevin Sullivan for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was released theatrically in Israel, Europe and Japan.The film aired on...

, which was based on the classic novel of the same name by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE , called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L.M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success...

. The bridge from several key scenes in the film, including Anne’s reenactment of the Lady of Shalott and the climactic scene at the end of the film when Anne and Gilbert kiss is located on the southwest side of the EICanada property overlooking the pond.
The bridge at EICanada was also used as a filming location for the film’s sequel in 1987, appropriately titled, Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel
Anne of Avonlea (1987 film)
Anne of Avonlea is a 1987 television film. It is a sequel to the 1985 Anne of Green Gables film. The film dramatizes material from several books in the eight-novel "Anne" series by L. M. Montgomery; they are Anne of Avonlea , Anne of the Island and Anne of Windy Poplars...

. EICanada hosted a tea party in the spring of 2008 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the novel and the organization’s role in the film. The bridge continues to be an interesting attraction for visitors to EICanada and Stouffville.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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