Kids Helping Kids to Better Lives
from News Of Norway, June/July 1999

Thirteen-year-old Robbyn Mitchell is an 8th grader at MacFarland Middle School in Washington, D.C. She has been a leading force in getting Operation Day's Work-U.S.A. started at her school.

Operation Day's Work-U.S.A. is a USAID (U.S. Agency of International Development) project where students help students to improve their lives. The project is based on the Norwegian ODW program, which has been in place there since 1964. It was a Norwegian initiative that prompted USAID to launch the American effort last year.

"For me Operation Day's Work is about taking a stand and helping to save the world," Mitchell said. "They say it's not a charity, it's a solidarity campaign. It not only brings solidarity to the lives of the people you're helping, but it brings solidarity to your life and that good feeling, you know, of helping other people."

She spent her ODW day at a house for runaway teens in Southeast Washington, D.C., filing and doing other chores. "We basically did the grunt work of their filing because they were six months behind, and we got them up to speed, up to date," Mitchell said.

Operation Day's Work-U.S.A. was adapted from a similar program in Norway and is designed to teach the importance of global engagement, volunteerism and community building. Annually, students will select a developing country to study during the school year and then spend a day volunteering in their community to raise funds for the project of their choice.

This year, hundreds of students from eight pilot schools went to work for one day in order to help children in Haiti improve their lives. The eight pilot schools are Thetford Academy in Thetford, Vt., Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy, Mass., MacFarland Middle School in Washington, D.C., Schroeder Middle School in Grand Forks, N.D., St. Louis Park High School and Olson Middle School in Minneapolis, Minn., and Pius XI High School and Shorewood Middle School in Milwaukee, Wis.

The funds raised by the students will go to a livestock-training program for youth in Haiti. The $31,000 the students raised this year will go to buy 2,000 female goats to the Haitian children, who will use the milk to help feed family members and other children. USAID had set $30,000 as the target, a number that initially was thought to be too high, but the students proved that they were up to the challenge.

Mitchell was one of 200 MacFarland Middle School students who went out into the community volunteering. She has also been one of the student leaders on this project. Last fall, she went with a group of students representing each pilot school to see how the students in Norway run their project. In Norway, the project is completely student run. That is also the goal for ODW-U.S.A.

Mitchell said that from her trip to Norway, she learned that kids do care about other kids and how their lives are going to be. On her trip to Norway Mitchell also got her first taste of brown goat cheese. "I won't do that again," she said. She liked the waffles, though, she said.

Why did Mitchell decide to get so involved in this project? "The fact that I would be able to help so many people so far away that needed the help," she said. Mitchell will be attending The Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the fall. There she will immerse herself in creative writing.

The thirteen-year-old is a levelheaded girl with a taste for suspense. Mystery stories are her favorite, especially Agatha Christie's novels. Mitchell said that she got interested in reading and writing because there wasn't much else to do. Since she isn't an outdoorsy type of person, she said, the choice was either to watch TV or read. Mitchell chose books.

The Duke Ellington School of the Arts will not only gain a new first-year student in Mitchell, they will get a new project as well.

Having worked so hard with ODW at MacFarland, Mitchell didn't want to leave the project behind. Hence, taking matters into her own hands, she went to the principal and pitched the idea of Duke Ellington becoming an ODW school.

"I am not going to be [at MacFarland] to run the program at the school next year, so I was wondering if I could help start the program here at this school," Mitchell told the principal.

The principal loved the idea, so Duke Ellington School of the Arts will be one of many new ODW schools next year.

Where did she get the courage? "I figure if I want this program to be successful, I don't have a choice but to go out and do things like that," she said. "Because if I don't. Nobody else will."

Mitchell is a girl with vision. After completing high school at Duke Ellington, she plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa., since it is an Ivy League school. Her older brother is currently a first year student there. Mitchell is the middle child of five. She has four brothers.

Mitchell plans to become a psychiatrist and write a few self help books. However, she plans to get her undergraduate degree in something else, so she has something to fall back on if she doesn't obtain a psychology degree,she said. What that something is, she doesn't know yet. But Mitchell is definitely a girl with direction and who knows where she is going.

"That is kind of how it has to be," she explains. "At this point in your life you're going into high school and don't know what you are going to be doing with your future, chances are by the time you are out of high school you still don't know what you are going to be doing with your future."

Mitchell said that the Girl Scouts is the reason why she got so levelheaded. She has been a Girl Scout since 2nd grade, and sold a lot of sweet treats, of course. "I pushed many a cookie," Mitchell said. This year, Mitchell coordinated the younger kids' cookie efforts. Her group of 10 kids ages 5-8 sold a combined total of 1,000 boxes!

Mitchell has certainly been a big part and a great student leader of the ODW at MacFarland Middle School. However, she feels that credit needs to be given where credit is due. "I am proud of Mr. Dudley for his teacher support because they say it's supposed to be just kids running the project," she said,"but I don't think we could have done such a great job without teacher support. And, I would like to thank Col. Wilkerson because he helped us a lot."

Christopher Dudley is a science teacher at MacFarland Middle School who has helped the students get the project up and running. Col. Wilkerson is with America's Promise-The Alliance for Youth led by General Colin Powell. America's Promise has declared MacFarland Middle School a "School of Promise," which includes pointing the students in the right direction.

Mitchell said that the adults have helped the students stay focused and organized. "We wouldn't have been so organized if it hadn't been for teacher support because I can't even keep my locker clean," she said.

ODW isn't just about doing work and donating money to a worthy cause. It is also a learning process for the students involved. "I have learned that there aren't just children starving here," Mitchell said. "There are children starving everywhere, and everybody needs life skills to work. I have also learned that when you [bond] together a group of students who can do, they will do."

The most important lesson though, Mitchell added, is "when you do good things, good things come back."

Information
Click here to learn more about Operation Day's Work-U.S.A.
To learn more about Operation Day's Work in Norway, please visit www.od.no