Dr. Bill Ritchie, CSX Professor of Management at James Madison University, and Dr. Mark Smith, Executive Director of Mihret Medical Supply Group, met in the summer of 2019 to identify ways in which JMU Supply Chain Students might engage in global logistics as well as help support the mission of Mihret. The most pressing issue at the time was the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other surrounding countries.

Ritchie and Smith identified the most critical needs for Mihret as sourcing, storing, and shipping the medical equipment and supplies.

Thanks to the help of various donors and contributors, the initial launch of the project was able to deliver a 40′ container to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Febrary, 2020. Since that time, this project has helped Mihret ship four additional 40′ high cube containers to Africa. The project just expanded its outreach with a shipment to Ukraine in September of 2022.