Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B004KSWBGY | Format: EPUB
Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal Description
In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children's Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal.
Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined.
When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war - for a huge fee - by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.
For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life's work.
Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 9 hours and 37 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Audible.com Release Date: January 25, 2011
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004KSWBGY
Imagine the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of people displaced and in danger. Families separated and unsure where to go or what to do. A government in chaos, unable (at least initially) to be of any assistance. Then imagine that this chaos had lasted an ENTIRE decade. That some of these families were so poor and so desperate to keep their children safe, that they sold just about every possession they owned in order to PAY to try and keep their children from being conscripted into a rebel army that had formed in opposition to the government. Then imagine that, far from being the safe haven they had imagined, these families never heard from their beloved children again. As days turned into weeks, then into months that turned into years, they realized their children had just disappeared.
This is the situation in Nepal. From 1996-2006, Nepal suffered through a horrible civil war between the monarchy and Maoist rebels. The country was torn apart. Elementary-aged children were abducted by the rebels to serve in any capacity. And of course, as is so often the case, an even darker force came into play. Using fear as their weapon, child traffickers took thousands of children to "safety" - taking enormous sums of money and then turning around and either abandoning them hundreds of miles from home, or using them to make more money in donations that they pocketed while the children lived in squalor.
Little Princes is the story of one man who went to Nepal to volunteer for 3 months because he thought it would sound impressive. Conor Grennan decided he was going to take a year off and travel the world, using the volunteer time to make it sound better to his friends and family.
When Irish American Conor Grennan decides to take a whirlwind year-long trip around the world, he opts to spend his first three months volunteering at a children's orphanage in Nepal. The instant he walked through the gates of Little Princes, he was mobbed by laughing little boys attaching themselves to his legs like leeches hungry for blood. Running, playing, giggling children swarmed Conor from the moment he arrived, so ecstatic to have a foreigner visiting them. For Conor it was love at first sight, although he was a bit terrified. Never had he spent time with children, never mind work with them for three months.
After settling in and getting to know the children of Little Princes, the facility high in the Nepali Himalayas, Conor finds he loves Nepal and all the hazards, poverty, and trials that come with it. In 2004 when he steps off the plane from America, a Maoist civil war is raging around him. Nepali villagers are hungry and starvation is a large problem. Winters are harsh in the Himalayas, the cold freezing climate hardens the people of Nepal as they eek out a meager existence and the food shortages of winter. However, impoverished people, little heat, border patrols, and starving children, still doesn't put Conor off. For the next few months he digs in to help the facility and works with these charming love-starved kids with great enthusiasm. Rice bowl after rice bowl, Conor finds he has found his life's calling.
Weeks into his assignment, through various sources, Conor learns that the kids of Little Princes are not really orphans. Shockingly the staff learns that these children were stolen. Child trafficking runs rampant in Nepal, thousands of children have been taken from their families.
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