ECTA: Empowering Communities to Transcend Adversity

A nonprofit organization

ECTA International is the international financial partner of HIMserve. Please make all donations to HIMserve through this secure donation portal.

Mission

Mission - To foster holistic health throughout the Himalayan region by training, equipping and apprenticing dedicated community partners.

Vision - That all can be born into love, live in hope and die with dignity.

Motto - : No one can be truly healthy unless there is health for all.

Background Statement

In the summer of 2002 torrential rains, floods and landslides inundated the Himalayan countryside of the Darjeeling District in West Bengal, India. Typical of every monsoon season, these rains soon put a halt to most activity in the region. The rustic trails utilized by the average villager were washed out and rendered useless. Lack of basic infrastructure is a root cause multiple problems for isolated villages in the Himalaya. People were suffering in these conditions, just as they had been for years, just as they likely would for countless more...

Only this year, something different happened. A young student from Colorado Christian University, trekking through the area during a study abroad program in Sikkim, noticed these issues and decided to make a difference. This student was Ryan Phillips, co-founder of ECTA. Ryan and his wife Amanda, organized a group of volunteers from CCU to start rebuilding the local trail systems. After several days of effort by the volunteer team, local community members took notice of the efforts and joined alongside them. As time passed, this couple worked with the community to establish a primary school as well as a feeding program to help provide nourishment for the most neglected children of the village. Later, the region's first medical clinic was founded, in full partnership with the local community, to provide compassionate and skilled healthcare to the region. A new definition of community was formed...

In 2006 it was this same realization of communal power which was beginning to take shape in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq. The situation was truly dire, and many were beginning to wonder if peace would ever find its way into the region again. Community was destroyed. The momentum of hate had reached a fever pitch as those who wished to affect positive change scrambled desperately for a strategy by which they could put a halt to the bloodshed.

In the midst of all of this, two Marines named Andrew Sullivan and Brenton Hutson found themselves working alongside Iraqi police officers as members of a Police Transition Team. However, in this they noticed a trend. Local communities empowered to make a difference were proving more effective in making a difference than anyone else had ever been. It was this demonstration of the power of community which ultimately inspired Andrew and Brenton to begin thinking of other ways the world could learn from this lesson...

In 2007, through a combination of providence, spirit and common ambition, Ryan, Andrew and Brenton came to meet each other in the Himalayas, sharing their experiences and dreams. As time progressed, they began to work together towards developing a community of people who live out the principles of sacrifice, community, and service - faith, hope and love - a community which eventually became known as ECTA.

Since it's formation in 2009 ECTA has not only continued to support the projects which predated its incorporation but also go on to found the region's first Emergency Medical Service and a Community Health Volunteer/Trained Birth Attendant training in conjunction with its domestic partner HIMserve. Brenton and Drew have since moved on to other opportunities but their initial contributions were essential to the creation of ECTA. The Phillips Family continues to seek the fulfillment of ECTA's mission and vision along with their community partners in South Asia.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

ECTA: Empowering Communities to Transcend Adversity

other names

ECTA

Year Established

2009

Tax id (EIN)

27-0306919

Category

Community Improvement & Capacity Building

Organization Size

Small Organization

Address

5676 Indian Paint Run
Littleton, CO 80125

Mailing

5676 Indian Paint Run
Broomfield, CO 80023

Other

6133 South Valley Drive
Morrison, CO 80465

Service areas

Douglas County, CO, US

Broomfield County, CO, US

Jefferson County, CO, US

IN

NP

Other

303-523-3125

Other

303-264-7884

Other

303-886-0773

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