CMMB history

In 1914, Doctor Margaret Lamont, from Hat Creek, Ashcroft, British Columbia, became the first medical missionary to answer Doctor Flagg’s call to service.

In 1931, Father Garesche made a pivotal decision that has served CMMB well through the decades.

In addition to the work of shipping medicines and medical equipment, Father Garesche established a community of sisters in June 1935—the Daughters of Mary, Health of the Sick.

In 1949, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, television personality and national director of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, joined CMMB's board and served for 26 years.

By 1951, CMMB could report that 33 tons of medicines and medical supplies had been donated for placement in mission clinics and hospitals in the developing world.

Venerable Sheen was very successful in his efforts to secure gifts-in-kind. It was also in that year that Father Garesche received an assistant, Father Anthony LaBau, SJ. Father LaBau was named CMMB’s second executive director in 1960, succeeding Father Garesche, who passed away that year.

Records show that in 1978, CMMB began providing $5,000 worth of medicine each month to help Mother Teresa aid the 45,000 patients suffering from leprosy she and her Sisters cared for in the city of Calcutta alone.

CMMB expanded into areas other than the provision of medical volunteers, donated medicines, and donated medical supplies in 1993.

2000 was a pivotal year for CMMB. A feasibility study resulted in the recommendation that CMMB evolve into a “program-driven” organization, and John F. Galbraith was chosen to lead the organization in this transformation.

In 2002, CMMB expanded the program by offering advanced courses in pediatric therapy.

In 2004, CMMB supported international and local partners in response to the tsunami disaster, committing US$3.1 million in health aid to survivors in India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.

In 2008, this program was named a best practice by UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

In 2010, all the organization’s resources were called into action to respond to a calamitous natural disaster: the massive Haiti earthquake.

New countries replace old ones, like with the creation of South Sudan, which achieved independence on July 9, 2011.

In 2013, CMMB delivered medicine and medical supplies valued at more than US$10 million to survivors of typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines.