The origin of the DELES training programme can be traced to the ten days workshop that took place in the Pastoral Institute (P.I.) Bodija, Ibadan in 1979, which was facilitated by Ann Hope, Francis Mulwa and Donal Dorr for participants from Lagos and Ibadan areas.

The follow-up to this maiden workshop drew participants from other parts of the Country - places such as Idah and Jos and from other West African Countries especially Ghana.

Within 2 years, the programme began to spread to other places like Iperu, Kaduna, Ogoja, Yola, Ede, Osogbo, Akure, Enugu, Onitsha, Umunede, Isele-Uku, Agbarho/Warri, Kano, makurdi, Ondo, Oka-Akoko, Ijio, Urua Akpan, Uyo, Ikot-Ekpene, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Benin Republic, Botswana, Ireland, etc.