Sewing around the World

GEMS can help people in need around the world because of the dedication of our hard working volunteers and sacrificial donors. Two of those volunteers are Jake and Ruth Schellenberg. Jake regularly supplies GEMS with reconditioned sewing machines. Ruth is part of a group called Helping Hands sews blankets.

Earthquake Victims Say Thank You

After receiving food, clothing, toys, shoes, household goods and medical supplies, residents of El Monte, Chile show their gratitude to their friends in Canada!

Volunteers unload aid for Chile

Volunteers worked hard to unload the container of aid sent by GEMS from Canada. Clothing, food, household goods and medical supplies were trucked by more volunteers to points of need up to 500 km away.

Help Arrives for Chile

On Thursday, July 15, 40 volunteers left El Monte, Chile to travel through the night to Lota, a small city of 45,000 devastated by the earthquake of late February and subsequent looting. Arriving at 6 AM the volunteers went to work immediately and worked tirelessly for three long days until climbing aboard the bus Sunday evening, they once again travelled through the night to their homes and to be back at work the next morning.

One of the primary tasks of that team of volunteers was to distribute the aid sent by GEMS in cooperation with the local Chilean community to the needy people in that region. Excerpts from the report filed by the team follow:

we left… by municipal bus, travelling about 10 hrs., but no matter, since the group had tremendous enthusiasm…. On arrival at the meeting place in Lota, at nearly 06:00 hrs., our contact brother was waiting with hot soup prepared by the sisters of the local church together with its Pastor, it was a blessing to be there, the low temperature didn’t matter, nor the strong wind that was blowing, nor even that the place awaiting us was social housing, the important thing was that we had arrived to fulfill the purpose of God for humanity; to bless them.

… One of the most moving visits we made that morning was to “las Cabañas” which consisted of a great many families who had been brought here after the earthquake. The houses were half-full of jars of water brought by the government to the affected families.

There we fulfilled our mission of aid, seeing the needs & how happy the children were to receive a toy, a doll or teddy bear, where children went door to door seeking articles of clothing for small brothers & sisters, never mind for themselves, where pregnant women did likewise to have clothes for their baby-to-be.

Chileans look to GEMS for help

The Chilean Emergency Committee in Vancouver, BC has asked GEMS and our team of volunteers to help with aid to their earthquake and tsunami stricken country. The local communities in Vancouver and Victoria are setting up temporary collection depots and organizing fundraisers. In addition to funds, the following goods are needed: non perishable food (should have at least 6 months of shelf life), baby formula, medical supplies, diapers for adults and babies, blankets, tents, sleeping bags, wheelchairs, walkers, canes, home tools (including nails & screws), kitchen utensils in working order, winter clothing in good shape, school supplies, toys, power generators.

These goods will be brought together and shipped from our Langley depot.

More photos from Haiti

These photos just begin to express the joy and excitement people experience as they unpack the aid and supplies. As we work together, we can make a difference to people struggling in seemingly hopeless circumstances. Thanks for helping us to help others.
Rod and Deb Wray are on the ground in Haiti and write:

We are very excited to have received the container!  It has been unloaded and everything is great. The bicycles are beautiful and we have already assembled and tried out more than a dozen. The clothes and shoes are excellent and we already did a very organized distribution to all the school kids at the camp.   (We have a lot of clothes to distribute still). The skateboards, scooters, generators, pumps and basketball / volleyball posts and equipment are great. It is funny how things are so much more special once they arrive here in Haiti.

the re-building can continue

young helpers

power for re-construction

bundles of clothes and blankets

the container has arrived

loaded with hope

More help arrives in Haiti

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of Dallas Baptist Church in Kamloops, BC, much need supplies are being distributed in Haiti. It is so exciting to see the faces of the Haitian people and on-site workers as they unload this container we sent in cooperation with Harvest International.

Supplies arrive in Northern Thailand

Our shipment has arrived in northern Thailand for distribution amongst the Myanmar refugees. Derek and Irislee Koch of Kelowna have been working among these displaced people and will be overseeing the distribution of the supplies.

Supporting Displaced Myanmar People

Exact numbers are difficult, but it is estimated that there are well over 300,000 Myanmar refugees living in northern Thailand. These people who have fled the military regime in Burma must survive the constant threat of armed raids, and deplorable living conditions. They face discrimination with no basic human rights protection.

A shipment of household goods, clothing and educational material has just departed our warehouse for northern Thailand.