Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

Conor Grennan

Jan 2011 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

A young man embarks on a life-threatening mission to reunite Nepalese children with their families in this New York Times–bestselling memoir.

In search of adventure, twenty-nine-year-old Conor Grennan embarked on a yearlong journey around the globe, beginning with a three-month stint volunteering at an orphanage in civil war-torn Nepal. But a shocking truth would forever change his life: these rambunctious, resilient children were not orphans at all but had been taken from their families by child traffickers who falsely promised to keep them safe from war before abandoning them in the teeming chaos of Kathmandu.

For Conor, what started as a footloose ramble became a dangerous, dedicated mission to unite youngsters he had grown to love with the parents they had been stolen from. In Little Princes, Conor recounts a breathtaking adventure through the treacherous Nepalese mountains to bring the children home.

Ratings and reviews

Because of the current unrest in Egypt, we can understand the issues of this book even more clearly. The uprising in Egypt and the demand for the unseating of a dictatorial leader, was peaceful, but the civil war in Nepal was not, although it did eventually unseat their king and allowed the formation of a government of sorts which included the Maoists, the very group that caused so many of the hardships and much of the deprivation in the villages. The need for change in Nepal, however, was just as desperate as in Egypt and, as always, there are unintended consequences for change. Unfortunately, years later, the country is still unsettled. Often, the group’s most influential leaders, in the fight for freedom, are almost as bad, if not worse than, the former heads of state. In Little Princes, a young man, who has spent the last eight years since college working and saving his money, with few expenses and no responsibility towards anyone but himself, decides to spend his savings on a year of travel around the world. First, however, he decides he will do some volunteer work in an orphanage in Nepal, which is in the throes of a civil war. Naïve about the conditions in Nepal, he sets off to pursue his goal. This book is the tale of his experience, his adjustment and his new dream to save the children that he encounters there. It is a heartwarming, touching story about the orphans of Nepal. These children are used as pawns in transactions that betray their parents and make unscrupulous people rich and/or powerful. The book is about how he rises to the challenges before him. He does things that most of us wish we could but cannot summon up the courage. Conor spends three months volunteering in an orphanage for children who have been sold into bondage by parents who are trying to save their lives or provide them with a better future. These men prey on the ignorance and fear of the parents. When a man offers to rescue the children, they gladly pay his fee, sell their homes to do it, and hope for the best. One man, Golkka, is politically well connected and corrupt. He has been trafficking in children, in Nepal, for years and plans to continue, protected by highly placed associates. Conor soon learns of the inner workings of a country torn by civil war and turmoil. After his three month stint, he travels the world for a year and then, drawn back to the children, he returns to the orphanage for another three month stint. He is selflessly devoted to them and tries to help rescue others. When civil unrest grows worse and his three months are once again over, he returns to America. A short time later, he finds that the children he thought he had saved before leaving, have actually been taken again by Golkka. His conscience bothers him, and finding no satisfaction in his job search, he yearns to return to Nepal and the children who have been abandoned by their families and their government and attempt to reunite them. The sweet innocence of the children, tried so harshly by life already, will capture your heart as well. Conor’s goals will capture your soul. His quest to reunite the children with their families will read like a novel. It will be hard to believe that such things really take place in the world. I loved this book. Unlike Three Cups of Tea, in which Greg Mortensen couldn’t resist including his politics, which turned me off, this book is written completely from the heart, blames and bashes no particular party or politician but rather concentrates on the plight of the children and their path to safety. Although I am not religious, I have the feeling that G-d had a hand in the rescue of many of the children, although they had been abandoned or they would not have been in such sorry circumstances, which gives me pause. Conor seems to witness miracles occurring and also finds a soul mate on the internet who is interested in helping orphans. Things come together for him and he is able to proceed with his efforts, even though he has great difficulty accomplishing his goals because Nepal is not America and things are

On my top ten of modern non-fiction books!! Warm, inspiring, heart-wrenching, intense drama... it has it all....country torn apart by war, families ripped apart, parents missing children, hearts broken or aching for family bonds to be reunited and even a good old fashioned true-love story. This young mans journey 'out of himself' and into the hearts and hands of the people/children he comes to love and who come to love him in return is genuine and a gift to the spirit of anyone who takes on the privilege to read it. Expect to laugh, cry, worry, mourn and leap for joy and everything in-between as you read this treasure. I have already given it as gifts to three people and plan more. It would make for great family reading time because everyone will be back each night for the next part. I see the 'smoke-signals' of a major motion picture in this true story....my vote is for Matt Damon or Johnny Depp to play the lead, that would put the icing on the already delicious cake!! Ok, now just read it! Get it at your library like me, if you have to, but read it.

excellent firsthand account of someone going to volunteer overseas and having their heart captured by the children of the nations... and going into the areas never before visited to find their families. a very important book and cause. feels like you are there with them experiencing the country.

About the author

After volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home in the village of Godawari in 2004, Conor Grennan eventually returned to Nepal to launch Next Generation Nepal (NGN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reconnecting trafficked children with their families. He resides in Connecticut with his wife and two children.