Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Little Princes-Conor Grennan

The Little Princes
Conor Grennan
Morrow, Jan 25 2011, $25.99
ISBN: 9780061930058

In 2006 just before turned he turned thirty, Conor Grennan gave up his day job in Prague to travel around the world. When he reached Kathmandu, he stayed longer than he planned when he hesitantly volunteered to work at the Little Princes Children's Home. He feared he lacked the proper training to help the eighteen young residents; However as the kids hook him with their ability to bounce back from inhumanity horror, he is shocked to learn they are not war orphans as he thought they were. Instead these children were rescued from Golkka, a child trafficker with high level government connections, who conned their parents in Humla Province into believing that he could take their offspring to safety away from the warring Maoist insurgents who recruit the young by abduction. Conor “Brother” vows to take the kids home in spite of a brutal civil war, the Himalayas and the need for funding (he established Next Generation Nepal to raise money and awareness).

This is a heartening memoir that emphasizes a person who cares can nudge mountains to help others. Dramatic yet frantic, readers will enjoy Mr. Grennan’s quest, which as his friend Farid says affirms karma exists; as the author feels rewarded with giggles from a muted child and the happiness emanating from reunited families, but also led to his meeting his eventual wife Liz and his replacement as Country Director Anna. Mr. Grennan has achieved his pledge to “bring home the lost children of Nepal".

Harriet Klausner

No comments: