Ecta International

"Be the change you wish
to see in the world."

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Our Mission:
To help those in the midst of adversity,
Equip them to face their hardship,
Empower them to rise above their situation,
And Inspire them to reach out to others.

Our Vision:

We envision communities united through faith, hope and love. Communities that stand together instead of gaining strength at the expense of others. Communities who view past, present and future adversities not as insurmountable obstacles, but rather as opportunities. Communities whose inspiration is shared, so that the communal strength now found within can be spread to those still without.

Our Motto:
Be the change you wish to see in the world

Core values:
Simplicity, Creativity, Self Sufficiency, Honesty, Personal Sacrifice, Compassion and Integrity

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Principles:
1) Projects will work towards “integrated communal health” which is the combined total of the social, environmental, physical, economic and spiritual well-being of a community.
2) Our projects should be low cost and simple, relying mainly on local participation, personal sacrifice and providence rather than big budgets or creating political avenues.
3) Our budget should always remain as low as functionally possible and an ever-increasing percentage of donations should be invested in the local community so that the inputs required for garnering financial support will be minimized.
4) Our projects will be done with the highest emphasis on integrity, because the way a work is done is as important as the work itself.
5) Ownership and control of all project resources and the responsibility of all project goals will ultimately be in the hands of local communities and institutions through an evolving apprenticeship-to-stewardship approach.
6) As a community ECTA will remain flexible so that it may evolve to meet the changing needs of the community.
7) ECTA will seek to understand the cultures it works with so it can actively participate in preserving and promoting valuable, community strengthening traditions.
8) Similarly, ECTA will identify traditions and emerging cultural norms which lead to destructive patterns and work with communities towards a solution.

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…

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.

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