MEMO – or Medical Equipment Modernization Opportunity, is a charity that originally started in Thunder Bay, went national, and has now returned home. Started in 2004, as the brainchild of Dr. Jerome Harvey, MEMO seeks to ship old medical equipment overseas. When it began in 2004, no one had any idea that it would still be around in 20 years. It has shipped 110 containers of medical equipment to 7 countries, all backed by an army of volunteers seeking to serve their community, those less fortunate overseas and their faith. What started as a small committee from Grace Evangelical Free Church on North Court Street, has indeed grown.

McKellar Hospital, Port Arthur General Hospital, Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital, Hogarth-Westmount Hospital, Grandview Lodge, Dawson Court, clinics, First Nation nursing stations, and Superior North EMS all live on through their donations to MEMO. While the logistics and complexity of hospital amalgamations and health care restructuring were going on in Thunder Bay, one by-product of this was the creation of MEMO. Not only did it save the City of Thunder Bay and the provincial government considerable cost in reduced landfill and specialized disposal fees, it also recycled a lot of valuable equipment for use overseas. This has saved lives in Cuba, El Salvador, the Philippines, Uganda, Zimbabwe, etc.

While MEMO started out in Thunder Bay, it soon spread across Canada. Other hospitals and clinics wanted to send their equipment overseas – these included centres as distant as Alberta and small communities across Northwestern Ontario. It became apparent this was bigger than what was anticipated, so MEMO then came under auspices of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission Board to oversee many of the administrative and
financial accountability aspects of this charity.

Not only was medical equipment shipped overseas, but ideas, people and training were exchanged. Medical professionals in Thunder Bay went overseas to share their skills and train others in the use of the equipment, expand professional development opportunities, and foster international partnerships. It also enabled local citizens in Thunder Bay to volunteer to prepare equipment for shipping, ship and then install in clinics, schools and
hospitals spread over three continents. It has augmented many a vacation to sunny Cuba with an extra week to help out. This has probably been one of few times when honest citizens can say they have been “drug mules” bringing medicine to doctors/nurses/pharmacists overseas. All of this has caused many in Thunder Bay to appreciate the Canadian health system even more when they see what little other countries have.

Twenty years on, MEMO is still seeking to serve. This is in a long Christian tradition from St Luke (a doctor and writer of the third Gospel) all the way to the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Salvation Army who seek to put their faith into practice. In April of 2025, the administrative responsibilities for MEMO were returned to Grace Evangelical Free Church from its parent denomination. Greater local expertise, zoom calls, and electronic banking
have all enabled MEMO to be managed in Thunder Bay with less administrative costs and more accountability. This has freed the EFCC to pursue other Canadian projects while enabling MEMO to continue building local capacity and encouraging local volunteer involvement. Donations can now be made to Grace Evangelical Free Church of Thunder Bay – MEMO electronically. Visit www.memoministry.org for more information on volunteering or making a donation.