Category: Craig Kielburger

Craig Kielburger is a Canadian author, activist, columnist, public speaker, humanitarian, and children’s rights activist. He co-founded the charitable organization “Free the Children” as a young teen along with his brother, Marc Kielburger, and school friends.

Craig’s passion for the protection of children began when he was only twelve years old when he read a news story about the death of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani boy the same age who escaped from child labour. It’s suspected the young man was murdered for speaking out against the practice of child labour. The incident had such an impact on Craig that he presented a speech in class and recruited his fellow classmates to form an organization called “Free the Children.” The organization’s goal was to face several initiatives for saving innocent children from the dark reality of slavery and labour.

Free the Children would eventually become WE Charity, but the organization saw success before changing its name. When the organization was still headquartered in the Kielburger family home, Craig and his brother sent a petition to have Kailash Satyarthi released from imprisonment.

Kailash Satyarthi was a child labor activist in India. The petition was signed by thousands of people and sent to the Indian prime minister. This action resulted in the release of Kailash Satyarthi, who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.