Moved by Action to Faith

Community of Christ
2005 International Peace Award Recipient
Craig Kielburger

Andrew Bolton, Peace and Justice Ministries coordinator, interviewed 2005 Community of Christ International Peace Award recipient Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the Children. Now age twenty-two, Craig watched this organization grow quickly into an international network of children helping children at local, national, and international levels through representation, leadership, and action. The organization has 100,000 youth involved in thirty-five countries.

Craig asserts that the phenomenal growth of Free the Children has proved that young people want to be involved in social issues and have the necessary skills and talents to affect positive change. In the past, however, the infrastructure and opportunities for young people to do so were missing. Free the Children filled this gap, and as a result, the work of the organization directly affects the lives of more than one million young people every year.

Bolton: Tell me about your family.

Marc (left) and Craig

Kielburger: We’re a very tight-knit family who gets everyone around the table—grandparents, cousins… My parents are retired teachers and my brother Marc also works at Free the Children. He’s a Harvard graduate, Rhodes scholar, and Oxford-educated lawyer. He turned down many opportunities so he could work at Free the Children because his heart is with the movement, with the charity.

Bolton: What motivated you to begin Free the Children at age twelve?

Kielburger: It was April 1995. I had lived a blissful, idyllic childhood with no idea of what else existed in the world. One day before school I was looking for the comics in the Toronto Star and noticed a headline: “Battled Child Labor: Boy 12 Murdered.” I still vividly remember the bright red vest he was wearing in the picture. Basically the organization started in his memory—Iqbal Masih from Pakistan.

He had worked ten-hour days in a carpet factory since he was sold into child labor at age four until he escaped and began traveling to speak out against child labor. He was shot one day outside his home, most people believe because he spoke out against child labor.

Craig has been on a mission since his youth.

I had so much emotion. I shared the story with my seventh grade class and said, “I need your help.” From that, a dozen twelve-year-olds got together over pizza and soda pop to form an organization and to dream. We started with community garage sales, petitions… Everywhere we went, young people wanted to join and help.

From our small group the story got picked up by the media and we got some great support. We now have development projects in twenty-one countries.

Bolton: You are now a college student. Tell me about your studies.

Kielburger: I’m finishing my third year at University of Toronto in a unique program, peace and conflict studies.

Bolton: How did you choose that field?

Kielburger: Interestingly, it was the result of a promise I made. I always thought I’d be a doctor. Then I started working in war zones. I was named ambassador of a children’s organization that crossed borders to aid war-affected children during the NATO bombings in Serbia (about 1998–1999).

I was taking supplies to children in refugee camps and just talking with all of them. One boy had lost both his parents in Bosnia. His grandfather moved with him to Kosovo but war continued. Trying to be upbeat and hopeful, I asked the boy, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” He gave me a completely blank look. I told him about my plan to become a doctor. He said, “It would be nice if we didn’t need doctors anymore, because the bombs stopped falling.” I made a commitment to him that day to help make that happen. That’s why I’m in peace and conflict studies. I’m at the University of Toronto so that I can also work in the Free the Children office each day.

Bolton: Tell me about Free the Children today.

Kielburger: We’re approaching our tenth anniversary and we have an extraordinary team. It may sound contrived, but when you come here you feel it, the organization really is a family. We are located in Toronto Park, which is a rather rough part of town.

Free the Children is the embodiment of a grassroots mobilization. We exist because we have 100,000 members. I think it says a lot that children still raise 70 percent of our budget with local efforts such as pop bottle drives, walk-a-thons, and fund-raisers where they rock in rocking chairs all night long. It’s amazing the things our members do!

A groundswell of support from children has led to legislative change. From the office we send out action alerts. Children take on the speaking, fund-raising, and action to respond.

I’m very proud that our organization has built more than 400 schools in rural areas of developing nations around the world. Many organizations build schools, do leadership training, and peace building. The thing that differs about Free the Children is we are the largest network of children helping children.

In many ways the greatest change is at home, because children learn that their choices affect others around the world. We change attitudes and ideas. There is a realization that: “We have a responsibility whether there is a child in poverty next door or halfway around the world.”

Bolton: Tell me about the Free the Children office staff.

Kielburger: The staff reflects the diversity of the world with people of different cultures and faiths working side by side. It’s a mini United Nations in our office. We each have our own unique gifts and talents.

We’re not big on titles, but my brother Marc is the CEO. He is a manager. I am the chair of the international board of directors. I enjoy dreaming about where we can go, new projects, long-term growth.

I plan to continue with my studies as I continue to work in the field of human rights. My dream long-term is to work in the field of peace and conflict studies.

Bolton: How has spirituality played a role in your decisions?

Kielburger: Some of the greatest social movements of our time have been motivated by faith. I’m grounded in the Catholic faith. I went to church regularly, but I never really understood. Unlike many people who are moved by faith to action, I was moved by action to faith.

My deepest faith is in humanity. I had heard the lines of Jesus, “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” [Matthew 25:35], but when you stand in a refugee camp you can’t help but understand. When someone is hungry they must be fed. When they are naked, clothe them. It makes it real.

Bolton: Is there anything you’d like to say in closing?

Kielburger: We greatly appreciate the award—not just for the monetary value—but especially for bringing it to the young people.

The 2005 Community of Christ International Peace Award will be presented to Craig on July 21 during a Temple worship service at the International Youth Forum in Independence, Missouri. He will deliver a keynote address and receive a sculpture and $32,000 grant (sponsored by Bank of America) to benefit Free the Children. This event will be broadcast live on the Web at 8:00 p.m. central time. For more information about the award and broadcast, visit www.CofChrist.org/peaceaward. Visit www.FreetheChildren.com to learn more about Free the Children.

From the June 2005 Herald, pages 16-17.  Used with permission.