Student Activists change lives and restore “stolen dreams.”

Take action.

A key concept in The KOL’s Mission Statement

            For almost two decades my seventh graders at Northdale Middle School in Coon Rapids, MN, acted through projects and campaigns with one goal:  to improve the lives of less fortunate children, children whose dreams have been stolen by poverty, children, especially girls, denied an education.

            Students investigated, imagined, invented, and created.  They

            *  organized “Pennies for Iqbal” to operate a school in Pakistan,

            *  drew editorial cartoons printed in the newspaper (The Coon Rapids Herald) and in the school literary arts magazine (Kaleidoscope),

            *  made informational videos that aired in every homeroom,

            *  assembled a “$$$$ for UNICEF” display at parent-teacher conferences to raise monies for educating girls in then newly-liberated Afghanistan,

*  spearheaded the “Mile of Nickels” fundraising campaign to purchase health kits and school supplies through the FREE THE CHILDREN organization,

            * wrote many letters to corporate executives and government officials,

            * created murals and paintings and collage art and a TOYMARK,

            *raised $5000 to build a school in a Kenyan village through FREE THE CHILDREN,

            *designed successful fundraisers: “Be a Lifesaver” and “Change for Change,”

            * wrote poetry and song lyrics and stories, and

            * founded Youth for Change, a group with a mission to build a school in India, (which it did), and to continue with humanitarian work beyond a unit in seventh grade, (and it has).  And so much more.

Other children, inspired by Iqbal’s story and shocked at the news of his murder, acted. For example, the seventh graders in Ron Adams’ class at Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy, MA. For them, this was personal.  You see, they knew Iqbal. As the recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award In 1994, Iqbal came to Boston for the ceremony. Asked where he would like to visit, he replied, “A school.”

That request led to a classroom where Iqbal sat in a desk, legs dangling and feet not touching the floor, his growth stunted from years of being shackled to a loom.  He told the class that he wanted an education so that he could become a lawyer and help to free bonded laborers like he was. When the tragic news reached the school, those children acted.

1.      With the help of teacher Ron Adams and student leaders Amy Papile and Amanda Loos, the students circulated a petition calling for an independent investigation into Iqbal’s murder and sent it to Amnesty International.

2.      Some students called carpet stores in the community to ask if the carpets they sold were made by child labor. Undeterred by rudeness and “a cold shoulder,” students planned to get the word out.

3.      Others wrote to Senator Edward Kennedy, telling him of their pleas and asking for his help. (Kennedy supported the students’ efforts and forged a vital communications link with the government of Pakistan.)

4.      They formed The Kid’s Campaign to Build a School for Iqbal and e-mailed middle schools around the country for help. The campaign’s aims were simple: spread the word about Iqbal and make a twelve-dollar donation to the building fund.

Twelve dollars stood for the amount of Iqbal’s “sale” into bonded labor and his age when he was killed.

5.      Their goal became reality in 1996 when the School for Iqbal opened in Pakistan, giving children what Iqbal Masih wanted as much as his freedom. An education.

Other children acted.  Notably twelve-year-old Craig Kielburger in Canada who formed a club with friends. FREE THE CHILDREN. Now WE.org. Now an international agent of change.

One voice, silenced. Thousands and thousands spoke.