OTTAWA—Craig Kielburger was in grade seven when he first inspired young people—his fellow classmates of 12-year-olds—to become social activists.
“There were 12 of us and we were 12 years old, and we never set out to start a charity or an organization—in fact, we didn’t even have a name for the longest time,” he said.
“It grew into a movement when elementary and middle school children wanted to get involved.”
Kielburger’s urge to help other children began when he read an article about Iqbal Masih, a 12-year-old former child slave labourer who was killed, presumably for advocating for child labour laws in Pakistan. He knew he had to do something about a horrible problem that few people were aware of.
So Kielburger and his brother Marc founded Free The Children, an international development organization and youth-driven charity that inpires kids to develop a social conscience and to become caring global citizens.
Craig was so concerned about the child labourers that he wanted to see the situation for himself and find ways to help. He convinced his parents to let him go to Asia to research the plight of child labourers. He raised half the funds by shovelling snow from driveways as part of the deal was that he had to pay for half of the costs of the trip.
During this time Craig wrote to every children’t organization he could find in Southeast Asia asking if he could visit them. Of course, he wanted to go alone but that was too much for any parent to accept. Instead, he enlisted the help of a family friend who agreed to chaperone him during his travels.
On that first trip he travelled to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. He even visited Iqbal’s mother and cousins.
“Although no one could say exactly why [Iqbal] was killed, many people pointed to the fact that he was an outspoken advocate of child labour protection in Pakistan and Nepal,” he said.
Now 26, Kielburger continues his life’s work of motivating youth to become engaged in the problems of the world and to help enact positive changes. Believing that western society tries to protect its children from the negativities of life, he provides “age-appropriate ways to respond and to create opportunities for young people.”
During the last 14 years Kielburger finished his education and founded Me to We, an enterprise that includes outreach trips and selling books and organic clothing. Fifty percent of monies raised by Me to We go to Free the Children and the other half to running the business.
For his efforts Craig has received the Order of Canada, the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child (also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize), and numerous other awards from around the world including the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award.
He is author of “Free The Children,” “Take Action!: A Guide to Active Citizenship,” “Take More Action,” and, the New York Times bestseller “Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World.”
Kielburger will be at the Ottawa Writers Festival on Oct. 24 to talk about "The World Needs Your Kid: How to Raise Children Who Care and Contribute," his latest book that he co-authored with his brother Marc and Shelley Page, an award winning journalist and mother of two.
The book explains how his parents helped shape his view that people can do something good for others. His father used to read the daily newspaper with Kielburger and his brother Marc, which raised their awareness of the world’s problems.
His mother took the brothers downtown where they saw her give money to homeless people living on the street. “She would always ask the person’s name while she was retrieving some money from her purse. She wanted us to look such people in the eye and not walk past them as if they were invisible.”
He believes that children can change the world and talks about raising “compassionate kids” who won’t be passive bystanders or uncaring observers of the world’s problems and the many problems faced by children around the world.
The Ottawa International Writers Festival runs from October 21 through 27 and includes presentations from such luminaries as Linden MacIntyre, musician David Byrne, and the iconic Margaret Atwood. Visit writersfestival.org for a full list of speakers and events.
For more information about Kielburger's work visit freethechildren.com and metowe.com.
Last updated October 26, 2009.
