Today is World Humanitarian Day.
Ten years ago, the UN declared August 19th World Humanitarian Day. They wanted raise public awareness about Humanitarian needs and assistance. They also wanted to recognize those people who are changing other people’s lives. Today, and every August 19th, celebrates people who are humanitarians and people who have made a difference in the lives of others around the world.
A humanitarian is someone who is changing the world and making a difference for people. A humanitarian is dedicated and concerned about issues that effect people’s lives in their community and around the world. Humanitarians work to help people and make their lives safer, healthier and happier. Many humanitarians work toward providing clean water, establishing health clinics, schools, food supply and anything that would improve people’s lives by providing what we know as basic needs.
Today I want to honour and celebrate two very special Humanitarians – Marc and Craig Kielburger. From a very young age, they have dedicated their lives to helping people in developing countries and motivating and inspiring young people to learn about the world and understand that we can all be humanitarians. They have each been awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship, they are both Members of the Order of Canada and this September, together they will be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
When Craig was 12 years old he read in the newspaper about Iqubal Masih, a young boy in Pakistan who had been killed for speaking out about his years and experience as a child labourer. He was angered to learn that a young boy, the same age as him, lived such a different life. Craig researched about Child Labour and he couldn’t believe this was happening to kids all over the world. Soon after that, he travelled to Asia so that he could see for himself the conditions that he had learned about. Craig had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada and he helped to raise awareness of Child Labour. In fact, Craig met with many political leaders to help put an end to Child Labour.
When Craig was 12 and Marc was 17 they founded Free The Children, their non–profit organization. Free The Children works toward eliminate many big issues around the world like Poverty, Child Labour, Homelessness, Hunger, Education and more. The model of Free The Children in based on Adopt a Village and they focus on The 5 pillars: Education, Clean Water and Sanitation, Health, Alternative Income and Livelihood, Agriculture and Food Security. When Free The Children their main goal was education and started building schools. Then they realized that girls weren’t going to school because every day girls walk miles and miles to get water for their village. So then they had to get water into the community. Then they found that many children were not healthy enough to go to school, so they had to work to get them medical care. In order to get children education, they work toward getting them everything that they need too. Free The Children works in Kenya, Rural China, Ghana, India, Haiti, Ecuador, Nicaruaga, and Sierra Leone.
Free The Children grew to include Me to We – their social enterprise. Me to We experiences and leadership programs teach young people about social justice and offers opportunities to be the change. Me to We gives the chance for youth to be active humanitarians. What’s also awesome about Me to We is that they are also committed to the environment. For every piece of Me To We clothing, books, DVDs and jewelery, a tree is planted. Since 2008 Me To We has planted more than 538,000 trees. Sales of the Rafiki Friend Chains have fed 35, 000 people and the Rafiki Water Chains have given clean water to more than 38, 000 people.
Finally, We Day. They call We Day the movement of our time. It honours youth, students and teachers who share ideals and passions for social justice, social action and social change, locally and globally. We Day brings together the next generation of humanitarians. The first We Day was in 2007 and 8, 000 people were in Toronto. This year We Day in Toronto will be at the Air Canada Center for 20,000 people and then it will move across Canada to Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Waterloo, Montreal, Halifax and Ottawa. We Days will be held in the US in Minnesota and Seattle and for the first time in the UK.
Here are some impacts of We Day:
- More than five million hours have been volunteered for local and global causes
- More than $26 million has been fundraised for 900 causes
- Millions of people have watched the webcasts online
This all proves that Marc and Craig Kielburger are not only Humanitarians themselves, but they have also inspired a young generation of humanitarians.
I am proud to be one of the many that they have inspired.
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