They’ve built houses in Nicaragua, worked on biodiesel projects in Central America and, most recently, raised money for clean water in India: the Whitman Direct Action group does not let one issue govern its charitable projects agenda.
The group, commonly known as the abbreviated WDA, is a non-profit, student-led organization devoted to promoting environmentally and economically sustainable communitie. Unlike other non-profit organizations, WDA does not have a definite agenda of goals they want to achieve, but instead takes on individual projects that address the needs of marginalized communities through research, critical dialog and collaborative action, said senior Tim Shadix, a member.
WDA hosted a silent auction to raise money for the Transnational Community Initiative, which helps to establish a sustainable community development project in Mexico. The auction to support this goal of collaborating with immigrant communities in the Pacific Northwest region was held Friday, Oct. 24, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Reid Campus Center.
Founded in 2005, WDA began by building a house in Nicaragua.
“WDA originated from the desire by Joseph Bornstein ’08 and his friends to build a house for a family Joseph knew in Nicaragua who were left destitute when the father of the household was killed in a fishing accident,” Shadix said.
“Following that experience, Joseph and other Whitman students decided to form an official organization and initiate the 2006 Central American Biodiesel Project.”
Currently, WDA consists of twelve students and a board of faculty advisors, which supports the group when necessary.
After the Build-a-House project, WDA ran the Central American Biodiesel Project in 2006. WDA hosted two international biodiesel conferences and co-founded biodiesel cooperatives and resource centers with companies throughout Honduras and Nicaragua to help marginalized societies expand and generate their own oil. Recently, WDA has begun the Sadhana Clean Water Project, an initiative to address the socio-political constraints to clean water access in rural India. More information on these projects can be accessed on the WDA Web site, whitmandirectaction.org.
On average, the budgets of these projects range from $12,000 to $15,000, which goes directly towards travel costs for the group members and the provision of materials and seed funds to help establish the project initiatives with the partners within the community, said Shadix. The past projects have completed their goals, but, as stated by Shadix, much more goes into these projects than many assume. A lot of the money also goes to other necessary steps taken by WDA.
“In the past projects, [extra necessary steps] have included building a house, building a biodiesel processor, creating biodiesel educational materials, hosting conferences, conducting comprehensive field studies and publishing research reports and books,” said Shadix.
Aside from giving Whitman a good reputation in different countries, WDA has also been an inspiration on Whitman campus. They have given presentations on their work, presented at the Undergraduate Conference, hosted a discussion on global citizenship at last year’s diversity symposium and held a number of fund raisers. Currently, the group is running an exhibit in the Stevens Gallery in Reid that features photography of their past international projects.
“The best parts about WDA are the relationships that you form within and outside of the organization, but also having built it from scratch,” said sophomore John Loranger, a WDA member.
WDA raised approximately $1150 from the silent auction, and the Whitman community can expect to see many more projects from this motivated group. Stay tuned.
