Craig Kielburger
Biography
Quotes
Links
What Craig is doing now
What You Can Do
"The change starts within each one of us. And ends only when all children are free to be children"
"I play video games and watch TV, but there's more to life than that. Faxing and the Internet have created a global community. The kid next door has become the kid in Latin America or Asia."
"What this is all about is political will. If our own country [Canada] and other countries made it clear that child labor is both illegal and unacceptable, then this problem wouldn't exist."
"The struggle began several years ago in communities and in cities in South America and Africa, where children were sold, tricked or forced into bondage as carpet weavers, domestic servants and child prostitutes. Now, children and adults march in the streets of Calcutta to protest. North Americans are not saving these children; we are supporting them in their struggle." [from The Power of One, a book written by Craig Keilburger]
"We so often feel powerless to do anything about the many problems in the world around us. We are so often left to wonder whether one person can possibly make a difference. Mother Teresa said yes we can. Her life was resounding proof that it is possible."
"The slums of Calcutta can bring a person to tears. It was not the poverty, however, but the incredible welcome that moved me the most. These people accepted me into their lives, brought me into their homes, and offered to share what little food they had with me."
"Children working in the carpet industry often suffer from many health problems. These include breathing difficulties from inhaling the carpet fibres, arthritis in their fingers from tying the tiny knots, and growth deformities from working hunched over their looms for so long every day."
"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?"
"I was deeply moved by the stories of Munnilal, Mohan, and those of other children who had been rescued from the carpet factories in India. Our research in that country led us to the discovery of Rugmark, a label attached to hand-knotted or hand-woven carpets to indicate they are made without child labour. Rugmark is a solution initiated by people in South Asia and not by the Western world ... During my visit to Brazil, I became acquainted with a similar labelling system being used in that country for products made without child labour."
"Kids have to be tough to survive on the streets of Kathmandu, where older gang members often beat and rob them. They face cold winters, hunger, homelessness, and unsympathetic police. But under each hardened shell there is still a child."
Read Free
The Children, A Young Man Fights Against Child Labor and Proves that
Children Can Change the World, by Craig Kielburger with Kevin Major