Bianca Frattasi
October 2010
CRAIG KIELBURGER
Craig Kielburger was born on December 17, 1982 in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. One morning,
Craig came downstairs for breakfast and found the Toronto Star, a local newspaper, on his
kitchen table. In the search for comics he came across a story that would change his life
forever. It was the story of Iqbal Masih, a 12-year-old boy, the same age as Craig at the time,
who was sold into slavery at the age of 4. He was forced to make carpets for hours on end in
horrible conditions. But Iqbal had enough determination to escape one day. When he finally got
out he told everyone his story and how horrible the conditions were in that factory. Sadly, the
owner of that carpet business found his revenge on the poor boy, and young Iqbal was brutally
murdered in 1995 at the age of 12.
Craig was completely outraged by this story, and so Free the Children was born. i
Craig went to school that morning and told his teacher about what he had read. He told her that
he wanted to make a difference and he asked his classmates to help him. They all agreed and
soon Craig and his friends were sending out letters and faxing world leaders, including the
Canadian prime minister. Free the Children was funded by garage sales, bake sales, car
washes and many other little fundraisers, all run by children. No one on the Board of Directors
was over the age of 18.
Craig and his friends opened the eyes of many people, showing them just how horrible the living
conditions of these children were. According to Craig, children were enslaved from an early age
to work in factories and sweatshops, working 14-hour days, without a chance to go to school,
beaten, mistreated, living behind barbed-wire fences and cement block walls, with no future, no
education and little chance for happiness. The organization also exposed the use of children as
prostitutes.
At the age of 14, Craig took a trip to the slums, sweat shops and back alleys in South Asia to
find enslaved children. He also accompanied police officers on a raid to free the children in
factories. He then brought these children to their parents and talked to them about the hardships
they had faced and the joy of seeing their sons or daughters again. ii
Although most saw Craig as an inspiration, some didn’t agree with his views. He suffered public
attacks for what he was bringing to light. Some couldn't cope with his age, saying that he was
too young to be telling adults and politicians, much less entire countries, what they should and
shouldn't do. When he brought up the topic of children enslaved as prostitutes, older adults felt
that he had overstepped an unspoken boundary -- that children should not speak of these
topics.iii
Although Free the Children faced a lot of scepticism, they persevered and within two years had
raised enough money to fund a rehabilitation center in Pakistan for children who had recently
been taken out of slavery. The center provided shelter and an education. All the money raised
was by coin donations, bake sales, car washes and whatever else the children in Craig’s class
could think of.
What has happened since then? Craig, now 28, has accomplished many things in his short
lifetime. He has become known all over the world as an advocate for children’s rights, and for
creating We Day and Me to We.iv
We Day has been going on since 2007 and has become more and more popular with each year
that passes by. When asked about We Day, Craig Kielburger said:
“It was created by Free the Children to celebrate the power of young people to create positive
change. We Day is a day-long event that ignites a year-long program for change, called We
Schools in Action. In cities across Canada, the event brings inspirational speeches and
performances to young leaders. Students then bring that energy home to take action on local
and international issues all year long. Free The Children's We Day is the celebration, the
inspiration and the vehicle for young people to change the world.”
But it doesn’t stop there. We Day is free of charge and available to any school that’s up to the
challenge that We Day brings. In exchange, each school that attends We Day is asked to make
a commitment to the cause and to follow the We Schools in Action program, which includes
taking local and global action throughout the year.v Since 2007, young people from all over
North America have been attending We Day to discover passions they have in common, to
celebrate their successes, to become aware of new challenges and to build friendships that last
a lifetime. “The We Day events feature speeches and performances from global leaders and
social activists, cultural icons and entertainers.”vi
Me to We is a social enterprise that donates 50% of its annual profits to Free the Children. This
money is obtained by selling products such as organic, fair-trade clothing which can be used as
alternatives to clothing made in countries that allow child labour.vii According to an article, the
aim of the enterprise is to "eventually cover the charity's administrative costs, so all donations
can go directly to projects."viii Craig has also written two books, one by the name of We Day
which explains the philosophy of volunteerism and social involvement. He co-wrote the book
with his brother Mark. ix
There are so many things we can do to help Free the Children reach its goals of making the
world a better place by abolishing child labour. Getting involved is the first step. Join others who
are working towards a better world. In June 2005, The International Labour Organization
released a startling report of their second investigation into world-wide slavery and they
discovered that 12.3 million children have been forced into labour since their first investigation in
2002. The report calls for a global alliance to improve laws and raise awareness of what it calls
a ‘hidden’ issue.x
Why not get involved? Email freechild@clo.com and tell them you want to help! The Free the
Children site states:
“Global change starts here. At Free the Children, we’re in the business of changing the world.
Our programming in North America—which is focused primarily on youth with a strong
emphasis on educators, families and the corporate world—is built on three guiding principles:
Educate, Engage, Empower. Together, these principles work to change attitudes and priorities
here in North America, so we can then reach out to our friends across the globe. Individually,
each of our programs and initiatives works to educate, engage and empower youth and adults
alike in unique ways. But together, those components create a holistic learning and actionbased experience for all who wish to embark on a journey to social change.”
I believe that Craig Kielburger is a huge inspiration, and his message is generally focused on
young adults. We are the future. What we do now will affect the future. As John Legend said in
his song If You’re Out There, “The future started yesterday and we’re already late.” I think this is
a perfect representation of our role in society. The consequences of what we choose to do now
will affect our lives and the lives of those around us. Hopefully we do things that will affect
people in a positive way.
Craig Kielburger is someone we can all look up to. Think back to when you were 12. What were
your passions? Maybe your passion was sports or music. Maybe it was video games. I do not
think many of our answers would be something that would affect the world. Craig shows us that
one person truly can make a difference. He shows us that we shouldn’t get discouraged if
someone tells us we’re insignificant in the world and can’t make a difference. If anyone is a
perfect example for what one person’s perseverance and determination can do, it’s Craig
Kielburger. He really puts his all into everything he does and works towards a better world.
You can see his character through many of his quotes, such as: “The change starts in each one
of us, and ends only when all children are free to be children” or “We so often feel powerless to
do anything about the many problems in the world around us. We are so often left to wonder
whether one person can possibly make a difference. Mother Teresa said ‘Yes, we can.’ Her life
was resounding proof that it is possible." These are just a few examples of how Craig Kielburger
lives his life. He truly makes me feel like I can take on anything. I strongly hope that my school
will become a We School and that I will one day be able to attend We Day. I’ve been inspired to
make a difference. I hope you have as well.
i
http://www.peaceheroes.com/CraigKielburger/craigkielburgerbio.htm#Top
http://www.peaceheroes.com/CraigKielburger/craigkielburgerbio.htm#Top
iii
www.peaceheroes.com/CraigKielburger/craigkielburgerbio.htm#Top Craig Kielburger Bio ’09.
iv
www.weday.freethechildren.com 2010 free the children
v
www.weday.freethechildren.com/weday/about/
v
http://weday.freethechildren.com/about/
vi
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Kielburger last modified on 7 October 2010 at 14:02. Creative Commons
Attribution-Share-Alike/about/
vii
Brown, Jennifer (October 16, 2008). "Changing attitudes one T-shirt at a time". Toronto Star. Torstar.
http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/article/517396. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
viii
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Kielburger
ix
http://www.peaceheroes.com/CraigKielburger/stopchildslavery.htm
ii