SS11 - Free The Children

Leo

What is Free The Children

WE Charity, formerly known as Free The Children, is a worldwide development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger.

History

On a morning, 12-year-old Craig Kielburger was reading through the Toronto Star newspaper looking for the comics. Suddenly, he stopped by a article about a 12-year-old former factory worker in Pakistan named Iqbal Masih, had been murder because he spoke up for human rights. Craig was struck by a single and profound connection. Soon after, he established Free The Children with a group of his teammates.

Goals

Empower young people to remove barriers that prevent them from being active local and global citizens.

Child labour is an issue of grave importance. It must become a top priority for all governments of the world. How can the world move into the twenty-first century with children still being exploited for their labour and denied their basic right to an education?

Craig Kielburger - co-founder of Free The Children