Health & Education for Today, Hope for Tomorrow

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

The Bible is full of testimonies and prophesies, which came through visions to the prophets and apostles.   They signalled God's vision of what was, or is, in store for his people.

We at EMMS International hope that our refreshed vision reflects what God wants to achieve through us and gives us a focus going forward.  We have prayed that God would show us what he wants us to do to play our part in fulfilling his plan for the world.

The vision is intended to signal to everyone – current supporters, funders, partners and the public – exactly what we are about.  That means meeting the current health and education needs of some of the poorest people in the world, and leaving a legacy of hope and faith by meeting people's wider spiritual needs.

Our history is rooted in the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society and Emmanuel Hospital Association, stretching back over 160 years.  Both organisations have supported education, training and care at home and abroad, all with the central purpose of bringing physical and spiritual healing to some of the poorest people in the world.

We believe that our new vision clearly states what we want to achieve in the world.  It builds on our history and looks forward to meeting the needs of the people of Malawi, India, Nepal and beyond.  You will see it form part of all of our communications and literature in the future.

You will also notice that we will be phasing out the use of the operating name of Emmanuel Healthcare.  Since taking up post, it has become clear to me that we need to focus how we represent ourselves externally, and the use of the operating name created confusion for both the public and our supporters.

We did consider a completely new name and identity, but this would have been time-consuming and expensive.  I genuinely believe that using the EMMS International name underlines our international focus and our commitment to our UK based programmes such as the Hawthornbrae Trust and Student Elective Bursaries.

I understand that some supporters may be concerned that this may signal a move away from supporting EHA or Nazareth Hospital.  I want to reassure everyone that phasing out the operating name will in no way reduce our commitment to any existing partner or the countries in which we currently work.

We face an exciting and challenging future that builds on the success of EMMS and EHA, but which looks to the future and our part in it.  I pray that God will bless our new vision and, more importantly, help us to implement it.

James Wells
Chief Executive
EMMS International