Craig Kielburger

What Free the Children is:

In Canada, the US, and the UK, they supply leadership programs where they encourage kids to overcome any boundaries that stop them from becoming active local and global citizens. They encourage the kids to do things that would help make a change in the world.

Then in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, they help supply them with certain necessities that are needed so that the children can grow up, and partake in things that all children should have the right to partake in. Free the Children has an “Adopt a Village” program where they help supply five main necessities that work hand in hand to end poverty. They are:

A) Education

B) Clean Water and Sanitation

C) Health

D) Alternative Income and Livelihood

E) Agriculture and Food Security

The Program focuses on correcting the infrastructure of the community so that, not one person, but everyone in the village can thrive and eventually, support themselves.

Me To We is both a way of life, and an innovative social enterprise. Living the Me to We way, means to understand that everything we do will make some sort of impact somewhere. It encourages you to make a difference in your actions and even your purchases. It also supplies you with choices for a better world, such as: environmentally friendly clothing, life-changing volunteer trips, leadership programs and even books that address good social change. When I say environmentally friendly clothing, I mean that when you buy a Me to We Artisans product, you’re actually supporting a woman in Africa, so that she can lift her and her family out of poverty. Me to We is all about being a part of a movement for social goodness.

Craig Kielburger is probably one of the best citizens alive today. As one of the best citizens, he teaches us how to be one as well. He does this is many ways, such as:

A) Being Intelligent and Educated - He informs himself about problems both locally and globally. From there, he uses his knowledge and understanding of the problems and thinks of ways to help solve the issues. This is what he did in the Free the Children Foundation. Child slavery is a huge global issue, as well as poverty, in third world countries. He travelled to across the world and back, many times to further understand the conditions, and then came up with a way the foundation to help those countries, stop child slavery, give them a safe place to live, and end poverty.

B) Being Social - He partakes in public activities, and introduces himself to many people. He gets around and makes himself, and what he stands for, known. He stands up for himself, as well as other peoples rights, and demands equality for everyone. He doesn’t keep his movement for only certain age groups, races, nationalities, genders, religions, etc. But instead, encourages everyone to get involved. He is a motivational speaker, and has spoken to millions of people around the world, and tells them his story and encourages them to join him in the movement and helping with the foundation.

C) Puts the More Important Things First - His interests and hobbies come second to helping others. He may enjoy watching movies, or playing hockey on his spare time, but he realizes that these children that are suffering from child slavery, and don’t have an education, and can’t even partake in their favourite hobbies are far more important. He has a great amount of self-sacrifice for the greater good.

D) Shares Their Dream - Not only does he have a dream, but he encourages others to have the same dream, and he helps, encourages, and instructs them on how to do so. He doesn’t want all the fame and glory for himself, he understands that to truly make a change, he needs the help and cooperation of everyone willing to put in the effort. He supplies them with the Leaders Today leadership training organization and encourages them to take a stand and join him in making a difference.

E) Me To We Movement - This is the perfect example of what he has done to help teach me and many others how to become better citizens. The movement encourages us to consider our actions as individuals and understand that everything we do affects our family, friends, neighbours, the community and even the world.

Video Clips of Craig

Biography

Craig also attended York University, the University of Toronto, University of Trinity College and Schulich School of Business to further his knowledge and become the amazing activist we know him to be today.

Craig Kielburger was born on December 17th, 1982 in Thornhills, Ontario. He has a brother named Marc, and his parents, Fred and Theresa. In his own home is where the whole story begins.

Why I chose Craig

Kielburger for my civic's ISU!

I chose Craig Kielburger for my ISU for many reasons. First off, he shows us that, no matter what age you are, you can make a difference. A BIG difference. He started at the age of 12! For a program he started at such a young age, it has turned out extremely successful. Just hearing about all the positive changes he’s made, and all the children and villages he has helped, is just so inspiring. He has supplied so many families with jobs, and their children with an education, its amazing. And all those people are able to eventually support themselves. Also, I had watched a video on him earlier in the year, and my religion class had planned on doing a penny drive for Free the Children and I thought he would be the perfect person to pick. There’s also a video that I attached to the my glog, and it was one of the first videos I had watched that was about Craig Kielburger, and that video alone, assured me that I had picked the right person for my ISU. Immediately after watching that video, I felt very inspired to do something great, I watched more and more videos and researched even deeper into what he’s done. Let’s just say, his list of accomplishments never end. Another reason I thought he would be a great choice is because currently, child slavery is a huge global issue, and as people purchasing products that often are made by child labourers, we need to find better alternatives to purchase and ways to help these children, and Craig Kielburger gives us exactly that! That’s why I chose him. Because I can learn a significant amount from him about how to I, alone, can make a change.

At the age of 12, Craig was downstairs reading an article in the Toronto Star. The article talked about a boy named Iqbal Masih. Iqbal had been working as a slave in a carpet factory since the age of 4. And finally, by the age of 12 he had been released by cops in Pakistan. Iqbal went on and tried to get the public’s attention focused on child slavery. One day, he was murdered unexpectedly, and the crime still remains unknown. This is the reason Craig had started the Free the Children Foundation, to stop child slavery, and to make sure all children partake in daily things that all children have the right to partake in. He presented his idea to his grade 7 class, and 11 other students agreed to join him on running the organization. Free the Children is now the world’s largest network of children helping children through education.

Other things Craig has done is start a movement called “Me to We” which encourages people to not only think about their actions, but also understand that everything they do, affects the people around them, near and far. He is also the co-founder of “Leaders Today”, which is a renowned leadership training organization. Me to We and Leaders Today work hand in hand, encouraging children and teens to become leaders.

Contributions He Has Made

They may seem little but they

surely aren't.

Craig Kielburger

1) Started "Free the Children" Foundation

2) Started "Me to We" Movement

3) Co-sponsor of "Leaders Today"

“It’s easier to be ignorant and say I don’t know about the problem. But once you know, once you’ve seen it in their eyes, then you have a responsibility to do something. There s strength in numbers, and if we all work together as a team, we can be unstoppable.”

Since the beginning of the Free the Children organization, Craig, along with the Free the Children team, have:

- Shipped more than $2.5 million dollars worth of medical supplies to Free the Children medical clinics in developing countries;

- Supported alternative-income programs to help children to leave work and attend school;

- Addressed the needs of children, involved in war, especially child soldiers;

- Established two rehabilitation centers in India to help free-bonded child labourers move back into society;

-Created the “Youth Ambassadors for Peace Project”

- maintained a speaker bureau, through which Craig and Free the Children spokespeople have spoken to more than 1 million people;

- And also built over 650 schools in third world countries.

“I won’t give up until the exploitation of all children has ended and all children have their rights.”

What Craig Kielburger

teaches us about being a citizen.