Our History

GEMS of Hope was founded in 1982 as Globe Ed/Med Supplies (Canada) Inc. In the beginning GEMS operated out of a warehouse, shipping medical, educational and other supplies from Canada to countries all over the developing world. GEMS sent supplies, sometimes repeatedly, to the following countries:

Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Sierra Leone, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Swaziland, Syria, Trinidad, Turkey, Vietnam, Uganda, Ukraine, Zaire, and Zambia. (See Early Work)

In the late ‘80s, GEMS began longer term community-based work with local partners and funding from donors and the Canadian International Development Agency. By the mid-1990s, in response to its successes with these development projects and the clear need, GEMS of Hope changed its focus. Its new goal was to engage only in projects which would contribute to the self-sufficiency of developing communities. The organization consequently changed its name to Global Educational and Microcredit Services (GEMS) of Hope. Since the late 1980s, GEMS of Hope has implemented over 25 projects in 14 different countries:

Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Liberia, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Uganda, Vietnam. (See Past Projects)

GEMS' Organizational Timeline