Valerie Mattson,
Almoutasem Aljahdli,
mohammed asiri
abdulhakeem alabbad
- Orphanage
- Food
- Hospital
- Child trafficker, Golkka
Summary:
The entire reason Conor Grennan begins his volunteering
adventure in Nepal at an orphanage is to impress friends, family, and women in
bars. He does not realize there actually
is a war going on because he assumes the brochure, from which he learns of this
opportunity, is exaggerating. He had
previously worked in Prague for eight years but wanted to do something both
challenging and impressive as an excuse to travel the world. The first place he goes to in Nepal is Thamel,
which is a tourist region. The first
night is spent with a host family. The
little daughter, Susmita, teaches Conor a little bit of Nepali. He spends his first night outside gazing at
the stars. This is the moment he
realizes Nepal is going to be a completely different experience from anything
he had ever encountered. He then travels
to the Little Princes home in Godawari, which was founded by Sandra. By spending time with these children, he
gains new insight into Nepali culture.
He learns how once a person has touched his or her food, it is considered “juto”, or unclean. Also, trash and environmental concerns are difficult topics to understand and consider in third world countries because they are primarily concerned with the welfare of the people themselves. He learns it is a custom to call older males “brother” as a sign of respect. He also discovers the people of Nepal consider time differently than citizens of the United States do. This is because no one punches in a clock for work, nor do they attempt to impress others by working through lunch.
One day, as Conor is trying to help the children get ready for school, the Maoists instigate a strike, which is known as a “bandha”. During this time, everything, even school, closes. There are people desperate enough for money they drive taxis anyway, even though they could be physically assaulted for not respecting the “bandha”. As a result of production being forced to stop, there are food and kerosene shortages, which is dangerous for an already impoverished nation. In Nepal, children actually enjoy school; however, teachers are not paid a lot by the government, so it is common for them not to come to work, which results in school often being closed. Conor realizes the school system is flawed when he sees the answers to Anish’s homework is wrong, but the teacher does not mention it as being incorrect. Education is not the only flawed system.
When he takes Santosh to the hospital, he realizes how unsanitary all of the beds and medical equipment are. After this event, he meets Golkka, who is a child trafficker from the poor region of Humla. Humla is also the home of the children of Little Princes. Golkka commits this terrible act because he is able to receive a cheap source of labor from these children, which is otherwise difficult to accomplish in the poverty struck nation of Nepal. As Conor rides a bus through Nepal, he notices a dark-skinned man on the side of the road. This man lives in horrible conditions because he is at the end of the economic scale. In Nepal, they consider the Caste System to be in control of economic affairs; therefore, if people are dark skinned, they are considered to be at the bottom and are untouchable. They are often born into this judgment. When Conor returns, Sandra decides to go on a hike. She is captured by Maoists and forced to return, which makes her realize how powerful these rebels are. Before leaving Little Princes, Conor Grennan tells all of the children he will return in one year.
He learns how once a person has touched his or her food, it is considered “juto”, or unclean. Also, trash and environmental concerns are difficult topics to understand and consider in third world countries because they are primarily concerned with the welfare of the people themselves. He learns it is a custom to call older males “brother” as a sign of respect. He also discovers the people of Nepal consider time differently than citizens of the United States do. This is because no one punches in a clock for work, nor do they attempt to impress others by working through lunch.
One day, as Conor is trying to help the children get ready for school, the Maoists instigate a strike, which is known as a “bandha”. During this time, everything, even school, closes. There are people desperate enough for money they drive taxis anyway, even though they could be physically assaulted for not respecting the “bandha”. As a result of production being forced to stop, there are food and kerosene shortages, which is dangerous for an already impoverished nation. In Nepal, children actually enjoy school; however, teachers are not paid a lot by the government, so it is common for them not to come to work, which results in school often being closed. Conor realizes the school system is flawed when he sees the answers to Anish’s homework is wrong, but the teacher does not mention it as being incorrect. Education is not the only flawed system.
When he takes Santosh to the hospital, he realizes how unsanitary all of the beds and medical equipment are. After this event, he meets Golkka, who is a child trafficker from the poor region of Humla. Humla is also the home of the children of Little Princes. Golkka commits this terrible act because he is able to receive a cheap source of labor from these children, which is otherwise difficult to accomplish in the poverty struck nation of Nepal. As Conor rides a bus through Nepal, he notices a dark-skinned man on the side of the road. This man lives in horrible conditions because he is at the end of the economic scale. In Nepal, they consider the Caste System to be in control of economic affairs; therefore, if people are dark skinned, they are considered to be at the bottom and are untouchable. They are often born into this judgment. When Conor returns, Sandra decides to go on a hike. She is captured by Maoists and forced to return, which makes her realize how powerful these rebels are. Before leaving Little Princes, Conor Grennan tells all of the children he will return in one year.
Analysis:
Conor Grennan begins his journey to Nepal because he feels
he needs to do something challenging to impress all to whom he speaks. Initially, he does not want to go to Nepal to
actually help these children. He just
wanted to do something adventurous because he feels his routine has become
boring. Volunteering at an orphanage
does not sound selfish and is the perfect excuse to travel the world and use
his money in less responsible ways than he could be. He does not realize how much this journey
would impact him. Right away, he
realizes Nepal is a completely different country than the United States. This impacts him because he has never
realized how wasteful he is. When the
volunteers at the orphanage take the children out to bathe, Conor accidentally
gives a child too much shampoo. In the
United States, this is about the amount most people use every day. The child acts crazily with hysteria and
excitement because he has received a lot more than he normally does. After this moment, Conor realizes how
resourceful the children are because they are able to do a lot with just a little
amount.
When they are eating dinner, Conor becomes full and does not want to finish all of the food that is on his plate. He is unable to give it to the children, however, because he knows how once food is touched by someone, it is considered untouchable. He begins to think about all of the times he threw away trays of food back in the United States. The more he spends time with these children, the more he realizes how wasteful and ungrateful his and other people’s behavior in the United States. Although a lot of the behavior is flawed in the United States, there is a custom in Nepal that Conor finds disturbing. This is the caste system. Conor finds it disgusting how a person can be born into a never-ending cycle of poverty and cannot do anything about it. This is something about Nepal he has never been able to forget.
At one point during his time spent at Little Princes, he tries to commit a kind and charitable deed by purchasing toys for the children; however, the toys brake, and the children continue playing with toys Conor did not consider to be in good condition, but the children love them because these toys are considered to be their personal possessions. He learns a lot about these children and shows how he is like a father when he says, ". . . We took enormous pleasure in recounting something a particular child had done, at how predictable they were and yet how they could continue to surprise us. It made each day completely different, and, at the same time, exactly the same" (36).
These children teach Conor to become a better person, and he develops a loving relationship with them which then results with him promising to return to Nepal. The ultimate meaning behind all of this is Conor realizes how American culture is more wasteful; however, there are many problems with a poorer culture, such as trash. Ultimately, Conor will learn more about himself and become a better person through this experience with the children at Little Princes.
Grennan, Conor. Little princes: one man's promise to bring home the lost children of Nepal. New York: William Morrow & Co., 2010. Print.
When they are eating dinner, Conor becomes full and does not want to finish all of the food that is on his plate. He is unable to give it to the children, however, because he knows how once food is touched by someone, it is considered untouchable. He begins to think about all of the times he threw away trays of food back in the United States. The more he spends time with these children, the more he realizes how wasteful and ungrateful his and other people’s behavior in the United States. Although a lot of the behavior is flawed in the United States, there is a custom in Nepal that Conor finds disturbing. This is the caste system. Conor finds it disgusting how a person can be born into a never-ending cycle of poverty and cannot do anything about it. This is something about Nepal he has never been able to forget.
At one point during his time spent at Little Princes, he tries to commit a kind and charitable deed by purchasing toys for the children; however, the toys brake, and the children continue playing with toys Conor did not consider to be in good condition, but the children love them because these toys are considered to be their personal possessions. He learns a lot about these children and shows how he is like a father when he says, ". . . We took enormous pleasure in recounting something a particular child had done, at how predictable they were and yet how they could continue to surprise us. It made each day completely different, and, at the same time, exactly the same" (36).
These children teach Conor to become a better person, and he develops a loving relationship with them which then results with him promising to return to Nepal. The ultimate meaning behind all of this is Conor realizes how American culture is more wasteful; however, there are many problems with a poorer culture, such as trash. Ultimately, Conor will learn more about himself and become a better person through this experience with the children at Little Princes.
Grennan, Conor. Little princes: one man's promise to bring home the lost children of Nepal. New York: William Morrow & Co., 2010. Print.
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