The Cult (Ure) of Charity and the Myths of Free the Children
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THE CULT(URE) OF CHARITY AND THE MYTHS OF FREE THE CHILDREN JEANNINE MARIE HOLWILL A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER'S OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO, ONTARIO MAY 2010 Library and Archives Bibliothèque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1 A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-68278-4 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-68278-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada The (Cult)ure of Charity and the Myths of Free the Children By Jeannine Marie Holwill a thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS ©2010 Permission has been granted to: a) YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES to lend or sell copies of this thesis in paper, microform or electronic formats, and b) LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA to reproduce, lend, distribute, or sell copies of this thesis anywhere in the world in microform, paper or electronic formats and to authorize or procure the reproduction, loan, distribution or sale of copies of this thesis anywhere in the world in microform, paper or electronic formats. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission. ¡? Abstract A Canadian charity with global reach, Free the Children claims to be the "largest network of children helping children" in the world. What began as a grassroots advocacy group for children's rights has evolved into a complicated empire that mixes international charity with 'socially responsible' private ventures. In the fifteenth year of operation Free the Children, along with its administrators Marc and Craig Kielburger, has thus far eluded substantial academic investigation. However with 350,000 youth participating in Free the Children programs and 19.6 Million dollars raised in 2008 alone, the influence of this charitable organization demands exploration. Through a critical analysis of texts produced by Free the Children; with support from Mauss' understanding of the gift, Barthes' mythology and Kertzer's discussion of ritual; what follows is an exploration of this charity's considerable ability to impact the cultural and ideological constructs of both the Canadian and international community. V Acknowledgements The intent of this research is to encourage reflection on an organization that, to date, has received little critical analysis. As a passionate volunteer myself, I offer this analysis not as a condemnation of the organization itself, but rather as a critique of the many assumptions made based upon notions of altruism. The development of this paper was supported by a number of family members, friends and colleagues. I am grateful for the constant encouragement I received each and every one of you. The many late night phone calls, marathon research sessions and heated debates were invaluable to this writing process. I would like to specifically thank Professor Amin Alhassan for his guidance, encouragement and unwavering support of my research. vi Table of Contents Abstract iv Acknowledgements ? Table of Contents vi List of Tables vii Introduction 1 A (Brief) History of International Development 7 International Development Gives Rise to Development Discourse 9 Freeing the Children: A Canadian Initiative 14 In the Beginning: A Noble Goal to Free the Children 14 Me to We: Reading, Watching and Wearing the Movement 19 The Gift and International Development 23 Theories of the Gift 25 The Development Gift 45 The Gift of Free the Children 47 Discourse, Myth and Free the Children 59 Critical Discourse Analysis and Free the Children 65 Discourse, Ideology and Myth 67 Free the Children Dot Com 71 Free the Children's 'We Day' 85 Ritualizing International Development 86 A Rock Concert for Social Change 105 The Kielburger Brothers: Co-founders and Co-stars 115 Conclusion 120 VII List of Tables Table 1: Barthes' Analysis of Myth 68 1 On a routine Wednesday morning in early April of 1995, Craig Kielburger sat down at his family's kitchen table with the morning paper in his hands. On his search for the daily comics Craig stumbled upon the inspiration for what has become his life's work. In the paper that day was a story about a young boy who had been sold into slavery by his parents, a concept entirely unfamiliar to Craig. This young boy, the article told, had struggled his way to freedom and resisted the life of oppression forced upon him, only to be martyred at age 12. Iqbal Masih was shot and killed near his home in Pakistan for speaking out against the child labour practices that had enslaved him for most of his childhood. Craig, himself only twelve years old and reading the story of Iqbal from the comfort of his family home in Canada, was horrified to hear of this boy's incredibly difficult life and tragic death. With a number of unanswered questions running through his mind, Craig's mission began. Initially, it was simply research on child labour practices to satiate a desire to learn more. This quickly evolved into speeches educating his fellow classmates on Iqbal's unfortunate fate and the plight of many other children like Iqbal. When Craig asked his classmates for help to fight for children's rights, eleven children immediately raised their hands, eager to join his crusade. On a spring day in 1995, inside a Toronto classroom, Free the Children was born. Today, only fifteen years later, Free the Children is the self-described "largest network of children helping children" in the world. By most measures, Free the Children has been a successful endeavour, 2 transforming from a small youth group into a nationally registered charity in both Canada and the United States, boasting a fundraising total in excess of 19 million dollars annually (Free the Chldren, 2009f). It is nearly impossible to criticize actions born from this incredible compassion shown by Craig Kielburger and his eleven classmates the day they founded Free the Children. In the discussion that follows, the motivation of a 12-year-old boy, and the thousands more that have followed his lead, are not intended to be the objects of critique. The impact of this moment of inspiration, however, will be explored. In the fifteen years that have passed since Craig asked his peers to join him on his mission, the Free the Children initiative has grown from a grassroots advocacy group into an international, multi-million dollar, aid organization providing support to communities in more than 45 countries around the world. The co-founders of Free the Children, Craig and his brother Marc Kielburger claim that the unique way in which their organization runs is intended to change the way Canadians perceive and participate in philanthropic endeavors (Free the Children, 2009h). A bold, yet not entirely unfounded statement, given the incredible amount of support the organization has received from private corporations, school boards, youth leaders and celebrities alike. While achieving an unprecedented level of success in a rather short timeframe, Free the Children's rise to 'blockbuster charity' status (Wingrove, 2010) has, for the most part, received little to no 3 criticism. Multiple inquiries into the organization within the mainstream media, through not-for-profit watchdog organizations and academic journals were largely unsuccessful. Any information available was self-produced by Free the Children or was largely fact based and promotional in tone. The search for academic research on the organization provided no results. Certainly, an organization that has successfully gained support from international political leaders including Nelson Mandela and cultural ¡cons like Oprah Winfrey has significant power to influence and impact communities, and yet this influence has not yet been addressed through academic analysis. Although not-for- profit organizations do not directly participate in the market system, they are certainly intertwined within the world of power, patriarchy, capitalism and neo- liberalism, and therefore not immune from the influences of each of these paradigms.