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The story he has to tell is not a fairy tale, and will not leave you indifferent
When he was 12, this Torontonian went on a journey through Southern Asia where he was confronted with children�s slavery. Upon his return, he decided to create the Free the Children foundation. Managed by children only, it is now established in more than 20 countries.
In order to have a feeling of what he witnessed, one must read his book Free the Children, written in collaboration with Kevin Major. More than 250 million children are living in absolute hell. To survive, they are literally condemned to hard labour. They are shamelessly exploited: physically, mentally, morally and sexually. They are treated worse than cattle. Some are chained to machines, others carry heavy loads of bricks or stones; let�s not forget those who handle dangerous matters, nor all those who are drugged, whipped, even killed.
Craig Kielburger in front of the fireworks factory conpound
at Sivakasi, India
Before leaving Toronto, Craig guessed he would witness terrible situations, but he felt he had to see them for himself. The horror was beyond imagination. So he decided he would devote his life to the defence of children�s rights.
Two countries haven�t yet adhered to the Charter of Children�s Rights: the U.S.A. (are you really surprised?) and Somalia. However, let�s remain extremely vigilant: it has been proven that certain countries, which have adhered to the Charter, do not actually implement it.
One of the consequences of these shocking facts is that the young slaves are denied the right to education. Among them, 140 million, between the ages of 6 and 11, are prevented to go to school; two thirds of them are girls. Faced with such a proof of humanitarian failure, The Guild has indeed a lot of Gingerbread on its plate.
Poverty and ignorance are the main reasons for the enslavement of children, which is perpetuated from generation to generation. Furthermore, silence is a very efficient weapon to ensure the persistence of this exploitation. We must put a stop to it, even though there seems to be no way out of this infernal maze of social tyranny maintained as it is by the lucrative child labour trade, their forced enrolment in armies, their sexual slavery. Obviously, parents in general would not sell their children if they could earn a decent income, and if they were better informed about the too often irrevocable consequences of their decisions.
Craig could not bear that situation, so he totally committed himself to his task, at an age where other teenagers are finding there own identity. Because of his exceptional maturity, we are compelled to ask ourselves what our responsibilities and duties are towards the victims of society.
True, we are technically very advanced, but very few inhabitants of the global village can gain anything by it. It does seem that the evolution of humanity is still in its infancy.
The Guild has chosen to work against illiteracy and for the education of all children, quite simply because education is the key to change today�s tragic course of events.
In a near future, the roads of Free the Children, with its friendship schools, and of The Gingerbread Guild will certainly meet to make a difference for those children.
I am very much inspired by such a valorous young mentor (Craig is now 19), and I firmly believe in the power of youth to influence the future, since the future belongs to them.
Help The Guild to help them.
Louise Mathieu-Mills
President-Founder of
The Gingerbread Guild
Free the Children
Craig Kielburger
in collaboration with Kevin Major
McClelland & Steward Inc., Toronto 1998
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