ECTA - Empowering Communities to Transcend Adversity

Our mission is to empower isolated communities in the Indian Himalaya to find and work towards long term solutions for those communities most debilitating problems.

Our mission is to empower isolated communities in the Indian Himalaya to find and work towards long term solutions for those communities most debilitating problems.

For extensive information please visit us at www.ecta-international.org

Community Summary:

Developmental, Humanitarian and Aid organizations traditionally take a compartmentalized approach at individual problems. Since there are no singular problems and therefore no singular solutions, these programs often bring about little lasting change. Lack of healthcare promotes illness. Lack of income ensures lack of healthcare. Lack of job training, education and employment opportunities breeds unemployment. Lack of infrastructure hinders solutions to these problems. These problems and many others which destroy communities are always interwoven. Organizations which attempt to plug a single hole often find themselves inundated by a score of adjacent leaks. Unless the solutions are integrated, they will never be as strong as the forces which perpetuate adversity.
In ancient times, raging rivers in the Himalayas were often spanned by hand forged chain bridges. Today there is a great chasm between remote impoverished communities in the Himalayas and the goods and services they need to live healthy, productive lives. When ECTA and these communities work hand in hand to unite business, education, social action and community health, a chain of events will be forged to bridge this gap. When the solutions to overlapping issues are integrated, they will support each other in a unique way, streamline development and reduce the resources required to fulfill them. ECTA means unity and integration in the Nepali language. For us at ECTA, it also means…
Empowering
Communities to
Transcend
Adversity
The most powerful solution to adverse poverty is a compassionate, skilled individual who wishes to serve his or her community. But a village health worker who cannot feed herself or her family is rendered impotent. An educator who is lacking the materials necessary to create a true learning environment is significantly handicapped. Community members who wish to make their contribution, but are too ill to do so, have little impact on the overall situation. A doctor or nurse without proper equipment and medications is like a musician without an instrument. ECTA will equip, train and empower these individuals so that they can all contribute the symphony of integrated communal health.
ECTA has identified its initial area of service as the region east of the Teesta River and south of the Relli River, in the Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal. The Nepalese living in the Himalayan foothills in the northern part of this state have long been a neglected minority. The Bengali controlled state government has little interest in improving the infrastructure or services provided in this far flung corner of it jurisdiction. As a result the education system is floundering, healthcare services are impotent and there is little hope of remote communities being linked to the outside world.
We at ECTA have chosen the village of Kaffer as our base of operations. Kaffer is centrally located in our area of service along one of the few vehicle accessible roads in the region. Our programs will be able to reach out in every direction and touch communities in need. The north-south road will give us essential access to the cities of Kalimpong and Siliguri. Despite this large area’s high population, there are little to no acceptable education or healthcare options available. ECTA will work with existing social networks and communities to create sustainable solutions and fulfill its endeavors.

1. To help those in the midst of adversity,

2. Empower them to rise above their situation,

3. Inspire them to reach out to others, who are as they were,

4. And equip them to do so.