In American society we do a lot of "volunteer" work and "contributing" to charity. We do our good deeds by helping out in soup kitchens and sending money to foundations. We walk away from situations like these feeling good, feeling helpful. But, there needs to be more. We need to learn how to receive as we give.

The Operation Day's Work program can be used to teach people how to perform this action. It should not be seen as a charity, good deed organization, because there is more to it. There is a stronger foundation lying underneath the program than just charity. The foundation is solidarity.

Solidarity involves the acts of being aware of, respecting, and understanding others. Whereas charity involves begging and giving, solidarity involves sharing. Charity is an action between people who are perceived on different levels with different rights. Solidarity is an action between people where everyone has equal rights.

Everyone in this world should have equal rights. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written. It declares that everyone has the right to things like marriage and a family, the right to an education, or even the right to rest and leisure. These are things that are often taken for granted, and it is sometimes forgotten that others do not have these things. We've all laughed when someone describes a parent who would not let them throw food away because "children in third world countries are starving." But in reality, its not a laughing matter, because it's true. Not everyone in this world has the simple things like a roof over their head or a meal a day in their stomachs.

Solidarity involves the act of being aware of these facts. It means opening our eyes and not ignoring violations of the Declaration of Human Rights anymore.

Solidarity involves understanding what people are going through. It's knowing what life is like for them and being able to relate to those lives in some way.

Solidarity involves respecting the people you're trying to help as equals. It means not condescending and giving too much so the point is reached where their pride is hurt and they are forced to feel lower.

This requires learning more about the people you are trying to help and opening the doors to other types of learning. Take the time to learn about the homeless man's family or the developing country's culture. Take the time to tell the man about your family, or to teach them about your country's culture. By doing this you are no longer just giving, but you are also learning and sharing.

The ODW program strengthens this skill by encouraging students to learn about the country they're helping. They form bonds by writing to pen pals and reading books that connect them to everyday life in that country, like listening to natives speak and watching videos with images they'll never forget.

As children, our favorite teachers are often the ones that don't treat us as children, but as equals. They talk to us like we, too, are adults, and make us feel more important by doing so. By learning about the countries we are helping, we learn not to see them as countries that are less than the U.S., but as countries that are equal in many ways. ODW teaches us to treat the people of these countries as equals too, the same way we like to be treated in our own country.

If we learn these skills now, as the youth of today, we will grow with these basic skills and teach them to young people in the future. Through our growth and movement, we will be able to spread the idea of solidarity throughout our communities, the nation, and the world.