Craig Kielburger is a daring young boy who at the age of 12, decided to take on the unjust practice of modern-day slavery in Pakistan.
Craig was alarmed when he read the story of young Iqbal Mashish who was also 12. Young Iqbal was murdered for speaking out against forced child labor in Pakistan. Iqbal knew a lot about forced child labor. Iqbal, himself was sold into slavery at the age of 4 for less than $16.oo. When Iqbal was 10 years old, he managed to escape from the labor camp and began speaking out against forced child labor in his community.
Iqbal received a lot of notoriety for his efforts. He received a humanitarium award from Rebok and an American university offered him a scholarship. Iqbal was putting a lot of pressure on the operators of the slave camp. It is suspected that the brave young Iqbal was murdered to silence him.
Iqbal's story touched young Craig who said "The soccer balls that I play with could have been made by him. He was only 12 just like me." Craig got permission from his parents to travel to Pakistan and video taped conversations with children in forced labor camps. His courageous and heroic efforts changed the export laws of Canada.
Today, Craig travels around the world speaking out against forced child labor. Craig formed and is head of an organization called Free the Children. This organization is dedicated toward ending the manufacture of products around the world that are made by using children as workers.