Emphasizing Self-Help
All the projects emphasize self-help, according to Chaudhuri. He says ODN's philosophy is to minimize the developers' role and encourage communities to carry out projects autonomously. The ODN chapter merely provides the money. "Hopefully they'll be able to reinvest the money and the project will become self-generating," says Lucy Perkins, a member of ODN's full-time staff.
ODN's goals of fostering autonomy in Third World communities and creating awareness at home are both highly political issues. Yet ODN strives to maintain a politically neutral position.
"To take a political stance would be divisive," says Timmer. "It would also limit the Third World programs we could participate in."
ODN is able to remain apolitical, members say, because it defines education as its main objective. "We don't want to become the U.N. or the Agency for International Development," says Shawn Shelton, a student from George Washington University and coordinator of Bike Aid '87. "We see our projects as partnerships between American colleges and communities abroad." This political neutrality and emphasis on education helps ODN appeal to students with a wide range of political views, Shelton says.
Despite attempts at downplaying the political side of its role, ODN has encountered some indigenous resistance to the idea of foreign students participating in local development work.
"Most agencies were initially reluctant about taking foreigners," says Chaudhuri, who recently returned from India, where he was establishing contact with grassroots groups. Many Indian relief agencies believe that development should come only from within, he says.
By explaining the goals of ODN, Chaudhuri says he was able to convince the development programs of the importance of American student internships. Ten agencies have agreed to take two interns apiece for next fall.
Chaudhuri says ODN is aware of the limited help which American students can provide and it seeks to emphasize the value of the experience as a way of raising consciousness in America about world poverty. "ODN's immediate aim is to expose students to poverty abroad."