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Where was Craig Kielburger born?
Childhood & Early Life. Craig Kielburger was born in Ontario, Canada, on 17th December 1982. He did his early schooling from Catholic schools in Thornhill. It was in school that he became interested in social activities. During one of the projects in school, he started the initiative ‘We Can Free the Children’.
Who is Craig Kielburger married to?
Craig Kielburger married Leysa Cerswell in 2016, right after three months of announcing their engagement. Popular singer Nelly Furtado performed at their wedding.
How old was Craig when he heard about the death of Iqbal Masih?
The life changing moment arrived to him at the age of 12, when he heard in the news about death of Iqbal Masih, a 12 year old Pakistani boy who was martyred at the age of 12 fighting for his beliefs and for the freedom and rights of child labourers. The incident shook young Craig to his core.
Where did Craig meet underage workers?
Craig met several underage workers and labourers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. He saw children living in poor conditions and did odd jobs such as clearing off the litters from the places where those children lived and giving them free food and medicines.
Who was Craig's group's first effort?
Craig and his new found group centred their initial attention in south Asian countries and one of their first efforts was aimed towards the release of imprisoned child labour activist Kailash Satyarthi from the prison by requesting the prime minister of India. Seeing his growing interest in social activism, his parents allowed him to accompany a young Canadian social worker Alam Rahman to his Asian trip. He used all his savings for the trip and collected the remaining money from his parents and family friends.
Who is Craig's brother?
In 2004, Craig and his brother Marc co-wrote a book titled ‘Me to We’ and in 2008, the brothers were presented with Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award for ‘Me to We’, the company. In the meantime, Free the Children kept growing at a rapid pace and Craig kept travelling to developing countries and meeting their leaders in order to get them onboard for financial support for the purpose of eradicating child labour.
How many awards has Craig received?
Craig has received more than two dozen awards and honours from around the world, the most known among them being The Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award, The Reebok Human Rights Award, Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship and the doctorate honour from many universities from Canada and outside.
Who is Craig Kielburger?
Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur and human rights activist who co-founded WE Movement together with his brother Marc. Born in Canada in 1982, Craig attended the University of Toronto and graduated in 2002 with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. In 2009, Craig became the youngest graduate of the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program at York University. However, long before he could apply to any program of higher education, Craig was already intent on making a difference.
What was Craig's role on 60 Minutes?
Craig also co-wrote Free the Children with Kevin Major about his experiences in Asia, his interactions with child labourers, and the process of how he founded his organization.
What did Craig do in Asia?
In the same year, Craig went to Asia to see first-hand what life was like for child labourers. While in India, he discovered that Jean Chretien, then the Canadian prime minister, was also in the country. Craig pushed for a meeting with Chretien, and after first being denied, he managed to obtain a 15-minute time slot to speak to the prime minister about child labour. At the meeting, he urged the prime minister to consider the fact that these children needed the help of the Canadian government.
How did Craig's parents help him?
Craig’s parents, Theresa and Fred, helped him and Marc through the initial stages of the group’s formation as it was run out of their own home. The children, just in grade seven, would write letters and send petitions to political leaders across the globe. One of their very first missions included collecting 3,000 signatures in an attempt to petition the prime minister of India for the release of Kailash Satyarthi, a child-labour activist who had been imprisoned. The petition was sent to the prime minister in a shoe box wrapped in brown paper. Satyarthi was eventually released and won the Nobel Prize.
Who is Craig Kielburger?
Craig Kielburger is an internationally-acclaimed speaker, social entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author who inspires people to empower themselves to make a significant positive impact on the world .
What is Craig Kielburger's epiphany?
About Craig Kielburger. At the young age of 12, Craig Kielburger had an epiphany that children truly have the power to effect change. Inspired by the story of Iqbal Massih, a boy his age in Pakistan who had spoken out against child labor and was killed, Craig and his brother Marc initiated a project that they called Free the Children.
What was Craig Kielburger's crusade?
At the age of 13, Craig Kielburger confronted Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on an issue that had become his crusade: abolishing the use of child labour in developing and third-world countries.
What is the Kielburgers track your impact?
Their “Track Your Impact” program encourages consumers to buy their partners’ products and enter purchase codes into a website that tells them exactly how they have contributed to “life-altering change with your everyday purchase.”
Who is Chris Besse?
Chris Besse, a member of the WE Charity board , says in a prepared statement that the charity “engaged with the company on important conversations to help support their cocoa sustainability strategies.”
Does Kellogg use child labor?
A CANADALAND investigation reveals that WE is connected to no fewer than three companies known to use child and slave labour in their supply chain. In fact, WE logos can be found promoting products made in part by children, including Hershey’s products that contain cocoa farmed by child labourers in West African countries, and Kellogg’s products that contain palm oil farmed by child labourers in Indonesia. WE also has a large partnership with Unilever, which has been a major purchaser of palm oil produced with child labour.
What did Kielburger do to help Iqbal Masih?
With the dawning realization that slavery was still very much in existence, Kielburger photocopied the article on Iqbal Masih and gathered statistics on child labor at the local library. With all the idealism and zeal of youth, he spoke to his class about what he had learned, and his crusade against child labor had begun.
Where did Kielburger meet his children?
Kielburger met with children who had grown up on a brick kiln in West Bengal, who had lung diseases from breathing in the dust from the carpets they wove in Varanasi sweat shops, who sold their bodies on streets in the Philippines under the watchful eyes of their adult pimps.
What is the Kielburger home?
The Kielburger home eventually became the world headquarters for Free the Children (FTC), a nonprofit organization that works to abolish child labor practices worldwide. Today, over 100,000 children in 27 countries – including Canada, the US, Mexico, India, Brazil, Ghana, and Pakistan – have been involved in FTC activities, and the organization receives thousands of letters each week from children who want to get involved. Although each office has a few adult volunteers who help with recruitment, bookkeeping, and mentoring, most of the energy and momentum behind FTC’s efforts comes from its members—all of whom are under 18.
What did Kielburger find when he called home?
When Kielburger called home the next day, he found that splashed across the front of all the major newspapers in Canada were headlines about how he had “ upstaged ” the prime minister, and how Chrétien had snubbed him.
How old was Iqbal Masih when he was sold to a Pakistani carpet factory?
Iqbal Masih was sold to a Pakistani carpet factory when he was four years old as collateral on a loan his parents had taken out to pay for their eldest son’s wedding. For six years, Iqbal worked 12 hour days, six days a week, tying the tiny knots that make up the expensive Pakistani carpets coveted by tourists.
What did Iqbal invite friends over for?
Well, maybe you couldn’t have called it a crusade just then. What he actually did was invite some friends over for “ pop and pizza ” to discuss Iqbal’s story.
Where did Kielburger go to visit the children working in labor camps?
After his success with the Ontario Federation of Labour, Kielburger planned a trip to southeast Asia to visit the children working in labor camps and on the streets and bring their perspective back to the developed world.
Where did Kielburger go to?
Finally, on December 9, 1995, Kielburger boarded a KLM flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
What happened to Kielburger when he called home?
When Kielburger called home the next day, he found that splashed across the front of all the major newspapers in Canada were headlines about how he had “upstaged” the prime minister, and how Chrétien had snubbed him. Five days later, Chrétien’s office called Craig to arrange a meeting.
What did Kielburger do to help Iqbal Masih?
With the dawning realization that slavery was still very much in existence, Kielburger photocopied the article on Iqbal Masih and gathered statistics on child labor at the local library. With all the idealism and zeal of youth, he spoke to his class about what he had learned, and his crusade against child labor had begun.
What was Iqbal Masih sold to?
An Issue of the Heart. Iqbal Masih was sold to a Pakistani carpet factory when he was four years old as collateral on a loan his parents had taken out to pay for their eldest son’s wedding.
How old was Craig Kielburger when he was a step stool?
But he did, and made the audience swift from their surprise to curiosity and then from sympathy to admiration. Craig Kielburger was only 12 years old then. “According to the International Labour Organization, there are more than 250 million working children.
How old was Iqbal when he was murdered?
He traveled to many countries, speaking out against child labor. But in 1995, 12 year-old Iqbal was murdered.
Where did Kielburger go to visit the children working in labor camps?
After his success with the Ontario Federation of Labour, Kielburger planned a trip to southeast Asia to visit the children working in labor camps and on the streets and bring their perspective back to the developed world.
