About The DESTA Project

DESTA means ‘joy’ in Amharic, the official language of northern Ethiopia. The DESTA Project adopted the word as an acronym to represent the aims and principles of the project: Development, Empowerment, Sustainability, Technology that is appropriate and Accountability.

The Project
The DESTA Project was founded in 2003 to help alleviate extreme poverty in the Cheleka Valley region of North Eastern Ethiopia. DESTA founders Sam and Andrew Cunningham grew up in the area where their missionary parents established the first school and medical centre in the rural town of Degan. This grass roots connection to the area provides a sound basis for working relationships with key individuals and local organizations, including regional health and education authorities, branches of international aid agencies and community boards.

The Problem
The region has been afflicted by war, drought-induced famine and major epidemics, all within recent memory. Communist rule from 1974-91 compounded the effects of already tragic circumstances. The current democratic government invests heavily in healthcare and education services, but the country is large with many low-density population centres. Transport and communication remain primitive. Without outside intervention an embedded cycle of poverty is likely to continue for many years.

The Process
DESTA is committed to responsible and sustainable capacity development. Each initiative starts with local consultation to identify current priorities and assess the limits of local capacity to allow development to occur and become sustainable. Capacity grows in a staged and locally managed way with support exactly where it is needed. Investment in healthcare and education reaps short and long-term benefits. A micro-enterprise strategy aims to reduce dependence on unreliable rainfall for subsistence farming.

The Priority
In 2007, DESTA negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the Regional Health Authority, Degan Health Centre and Community Board for the management and maintenance of an ambulance service. This service will transport emergency cases to the Health Centre or Regional Hospital with the aim of reducing an appalling childbirth mortality rate of 3-4 deaths per month.