Whitman Direct Action understands that in the process of working for sustainable community development, we must be seekers and not finders. In other words, the communities we are working with should guide our effort, as opposed to our organization overtly asserting our own beliefs of progress. It is in this spirit of collaboration that we will be undertaking a project tentatively titled the Transnational Community Development Initiative. This initiative aims to create a dialogue between the migrant worker communities of Eastern Washington and WDA in order to understand the economic needs of these home communities and develop an implementation project in Mexico to address economic inequity in a sustainable and appropriate manner. Eventually, this project could become a microfinance, microsavings, or public education project, or possibly evolve into something unforeseeably innovative. Regardless, we know it will be designed with respect to all parties involved and implemented to create positive change.

The dynamics of the immigration process have numerous negative consequences for communities on both sides of the border. In Mexico, many small towns see the majority of their young men leave to find work in the U.S. This means that economic and community development stagnate there, and often the women are left with the extra burden of having to raise families entirely on their own. In the United States, many Latino immigrants experience unsafe working conditions, profiling by law enforcement, barriers to adequate education and voting rights, difficulty finding jobs and housing, and discrimination from other groups (Pew Hispanic Center).

Some of these hardships can be alleviated by strengthening cooperative networks among immigrant communities and NGOs such as WDA. Transnational community networks are able to educate immigrants about their human and workers’ rights, as well as legal and community services available in the United States. In turn, more cohesive networks help to direct immigrant remittances towards projects in Mexico that increase long-term economic growth and community sustainability. To this end, WDA will be working with existing immigrant groups to establish effective strategies for tackling both the poverty in migrant-sending communities and the human rights abuses that occur in the U.S.

Our specific goals for the project include:

• Establishing an open dialogue with immigrant communities in the local area to identify effective project strategies involving hometown associations
• Understanding through research and community-based learning how to best address the adversities facing a specific region in Mexico
• Helping direct immigrant resources and energies toward tackling those adversities through projects that increase sustainable living options
• Raising funds to implement the project and facilitate the development of our non-profit student-run organization

Interested in taking part? Contact us!