Terry Paul Choyce
March 11, 2007, Brunswick Street United Church
No one on this planet would deny that Jesus has had a monumental effect on all of us. Even if we are not Christians, the teachings, values, and spirituality of Jesus have transformed the world. Jesus was one divine man who lived over two thousand years ago in a tiny country on the Mediterranean Sea. According to our records, he only taught for about 3 years. He never wrote anything down, that we know of. His message of love, compassion, forgiveness, and devotion to God was spread mainly by word of mouth, and a few letters and short writings by people who never met him. Jesus died a horrible death. He was executed as a criminal. And yet, this one man has changed all of history.
Today I am going to talk about another remarkable person, this one still very much alive. And he is a Canadian. His name is Craig Kielburger. He has started a humanitarian organization called Free the Children, which in the last 12 years has done an incredible amount to improve the lives of children and families all over the earth. This is his story. I know about it because Grace Beazley lent me this incredible book, Free The Children, the 10th Anniversary Edition. Thank-you Grace.
One morning in 1995, 12 year old Craig Kielburger, from Toronto, read an article in the paper about a 12 year old boy in Pakistan who was murdered because he was speaking out against child labour. This boy, Iqbal Masih had been sold to a carpet factory owner when he was 4 years old for $12. He worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. At 10 he was released by a human-rights organisation that sent him to school for 2 years. Iqbal was a brilliant student and a gifted speaker. He was given the opportunity to speak in Sweden and the United States, about eradicating child labour. And for this he was shot and killed.
Craig asked his mother, who was a teacher, to tell him about child labour. She didn't know much, but sent him to the school librarian for more information. That day Craig's life was changed. He was incensed by what he learned. Right now over a billion children are being violated and abused. 1 in 2 children lives in poverty. 1 in 3 lives without adequate shelter. 1 in 5 does not have access to safe drinking water. 1 in 6 is involved in child labour. 1 in 7 has no access to medical care. Well over 100 million children have never been to school. Most of them are girls and they live in developing countries. (P.308)
Craig told his classmates about this, and they decided to start a club to help these children. This club grew rapidly. Craig, who had been a stutterer when he was a young child, began to make speeches at the Lions Club and other organizations. The media picked up on his message. Within months $150,000 was raised to help his group improve the lives of children in the world. Craig decided he had to meet some of these children. With the help of UNICEF he and a 24 year old man from Bangladesh were off for a tour of the factories and living conditions in Asia. His middle class family were very reluctant to let their 12 year old son go. But he went. And what he saw appalled and shocked him. But the children also filled him with love, admiration, and a passion to change things.
Craig wrote:
"It is the children I've met who are my real heroes. It is their courage and hope for a better world that rings clearest in my mind. When I am discouraged, it is the memories of these young people that I return to for faith in what I am doing....I have seen children living in the streets of the world's largest cities - sleeping on concrete, in gutters, with rats, in the cold. I met children as young as five years old sold as domestic servants, children in factories pouring molten metal with no protective gear, children working as bonded labourers in carpet factories 12 to 16 hours a day....I even walked in streets of Patpong in Bangkok, with an undercover agent who, in my presence, was promised an 8 year old boy for his sexual pleasure....These children have no voice, no vote, no economic power. Many of them are subjected to the most inhumane forms of exploitation."
This does not have to happen.
"Freeing children is never a question of money. Freeing the children is a question of political will." It is estimated that it would take $9 billion a year to give all children a basic education. The world spends "$18 billion a year on make-up, $15 billion a year on perfume, and $14 billion on ocean cruises. Change is possible - if we change our priorities. We now have the resources, the know-how, the people to free the world of extreme poverty in less than one generation. The fact is, we do not have to live in a world where a child dies of extreme poverty every three seconds. We have a choice."
Craig and his brother Marc run Free The Children in 45 countries. They enable young people to become global citizens by working together to create a better world for all. In the past 10 years they have built over 400 primary schools in 21 developing nations. They have created an alternative income project by supplying people with agricultural tools, animals, and building women's cooperatives that have helped more than 20,000 people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. They have shipped more than $9 million in essential medical supplies to those in need and have helped 125,000 by providing access to clean water and better sanitation. They have worked with the UN in creating campaigns and programs to promote skills for conflict management and communication and how to live peacefully. They have leadership training programs for youth all over the world. They have volunteers working globally to improve the living conditions of millions of people.
All of this started in 1995 when one boy read one article about one boy. All good things start with the dreams and the power of one person. Craig writes (p.302):
"To be inspired takes the belief in oneself. A belief, as Mother Teresa would say, that a single person can make a difference. People have to have faith in themselves and faith that they can change the world. Because it is true - we CAN change the world, one person at a time. Imagine if all the students in a school came together on one issue they believed in. Imagine the power they would have. If the people across a community, across a country, across the continents, united to tell the world that no child should have to live in poverty, in abuse and neglect, the power they would have would be incredible. Others would have to stand up and listen, and learn there is a better way for all people to live."
If you want to find out more, go to www.freethechildren.com and to www.leaderstoday.com. But more importantly, figure out a way that you can make a difference in the quality of life of the people, animals and plants on the planet.
You have just as much ability as 12 year old Craig Kielburger to change the world. Or you just might want to make positive changes in your own life. It takes vision, confidence, the encouragement of others, and faith in Divine power to make the impossible a reality. As Craig says at the end of his book "It all begins when one person decides to take action." Imagine the possibilities, and go for it.
Praise be the Lord.
©Terry Paul Choyce. Used with permission from the author.
