Canada Newsletter, November
2024 has been a year of growth at EMI Canada. We built a solid foundation from which we have grown our capacity to accept projects and support emerging leaders as we work together to design a world of hope.
In previous newsletters, we’ve shared the stories of the two international and two domestic project trips we undertook in 2024. As the year draws to a close, we are looking back at these projects to see how they have progressed since our project teams left.
International Projects
Ecuador: Fundación Pachamama
Site Visit: June 2024
EMI’s project team travelled to Taisha, Ecuador to serve alongside Fundación Pachamama to design a prototype birthing house for the Ikiama Nukuri maternal and neonatal health program, which could also support educational activities. The EMI team vetted three potential sites for the facility, ensuring that fresh water, sewer, and electrical hookups would be available. Before returning to Canada, the team presented their findings on the three sites. Since then, the final project report has been completed and Fundación Pachamama is in the final stages of negotiating a land lease with the municipal government for one of the sites. Once the land lease is signed, and funding has been secured, construction of the birthing house is planned to start sometime in the next eight months.
Read the full story in our July newsletter here.
Uganda: Precious Ones International Christian School
Site Visit: September 2024
Precious Ones International Christian School engaged EMI Canada to develop a site master plan for a new school campus. With its five-and-a-half-hectare expanse, the as-yet-undeveloped site has ample space for a chapel, dormitories, learning centers, a gymnasium, kitchen and dining facilities, an administration building, and staff housing. Precious Ones envisions relocating their existing school to the new site over time as the site develops. The new boarding school campus is planned to accommodate 576 students from kindergarten to grade 12, along with 48 teachers and 140 support staff.
Since returning from the site visit, the design team has been hard at work developing the conceptual site master plan, staying in constant contact with Precious Ones to ensure the design meets their needs. The team has passed the 60 percent completion point for the final report, with the goal of delivering the final report by the end of December 2024 or January 2025 at the latest.
Read the full story in our October newsletter here.
Domestic Projects
Canada: ShareWord Global
Site Visit: April 2024
Formerly the Gideons in Canada, ShareWord Global approached EMI Canada to help them reimagine their office space to better fit their needs since their rebranding. The domestic project team conducted a site visit in April and undertook a visioning and programming consultation with ShareWord Global’s ministry leaders and staff. Since receiving the final report, ShareWord has established a building committee to advance the project. Additionally, EMI’s planning and visioning work has enabled them to evaluate and make informed decisions about integrating a recently offered A/V trailer into their plans.
Read the full story in our October newsletter here.
Canada: Grace Church On The Drive
Site Visit: May 2024
Grace Church on the Drive, a Cantonese-language church in Vancouver, BC, has experienced steady growth over the last several years and needs to renovate its 100-year-old building to accommodate the growing congregation. After the site visit and extensive consultation with Grace Church’s leadership, a final report was delivered that provided a comprehensive evaluation of the building’s existing physical condition, along with high-level recommendations for undertaking the renovation process. With EMI’s report, Grace Church on the Drive is equipped to navigate the opportunities, challenges, and risks as they move forward with planning the renovation of their century-old building.
Read the full story in our October newsletter here.
EMI Canada’s capacity to complete projects like these are thanks to the network of volunteers and supporters who Give, Go and Pray with us. We invite you to continue with us on this journey as build our capacity to say “yes” to God’s call to design a world of hope.