The meaning of gratitude

Craig and the Free The Children family want to thank you for all of your hard work towards creating positive change in the world

One of the things I am most thankful for in my life is the opportunity to learn the meaning of gratitude.

I think we’re all guilty of sometimes forgetting to be thankful for the opportunities we’ve been given, and I can think of a few times when this has stared me right in the face.

While building a school in Kenya, the dark clouds of a torrential rainstorm congregated over our camp. As the first drops began to fall, we ran for shelter in the mud huts. To our surprise, the local people of all generations ran outside. Then, an elder grabbed me by both arms and said, “Dance, sing, give thanks. We are blessed today.”

You see, rain is the lifeblood of the crops, the very sustenance of life, in the community. Without it the crops would not grow and they would not have food.

Standing in the rain, completely soaked to my skin, this experience made me reexamine my own life and what I had to be thankful for. Here was a group of people saying thank you to the rain and all it brought. It helped me to understand the enormity of the opportunities I have been granted.

I am grateful every day for the opportunity to follow my passion that first started with the founding of Free The Children when I was 12 years old. I am also deeply grateful for the hundreds of thousands of young people who have joined the cause in giving their time, their money and their efforts to empower communities overseas.

There are countless examples of Free The Children youth giving with a goal of making the world a better place. Through Halloween for Hunger, St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario, collected over 53,000 pounds of food. Megha Malpani alone raised over $2,200 selling earrings in her hometown of Palo Alto, CA. The Lord Byng Secondary School in Vancouver, B.C., is starting its second campaign to build a school in Kenya after already building one in Sierra Leone.

These are all extraordinary results that will impact communities around the world—communities that are thankful for your hard work. It’s an amazing, emotional experience when we open a new school or water project in a community. The children rush over to celebrate and to embrace the volunteers. They welcome them as members of their community and their family.

It is impossible for words to convey the same level of gratitude as those smiling faces. Just allow me to simply convey the heartfelt sentiment, “Thank You.”

Thank you for listening. Thank you for bringing Free The Children into your schools and communities. Thank you for sharing with the world the true meaning of gratitude.

Thank you!

Craig Kielburger
Founder and Chair

Free The Children is the largest network of children helping children through education in the world, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has an established track-record of success, with three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and partnerships with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network.