Conor Grennan packed up his life a few years ago and went traveling. His goal was clear: embark on a carefree sojourn filled with adventure, meet a few women along the way, and daydream on an idyllic picture-perfect beach in Thailand. Heaven.
Although after sharing his plans with his friends, they weren’t as supportive of him spending all of his savings on this hedonistic dream – which is how he found himself signing up to volunteer at an orphanage in Nepal for three months.
Conor hadn’t spent much time with children (truth be told, he was a little nervous around them), however thought it would be a good experience – and that it was also an impressive conversation starter – especially with women (being the eternal bachelor that he was).
What he didn’t realize was, not long after walking into that orphanage, all his preconceptions and future plans would get turned on their head. His purpose in life became unexpectedly clear – he had to help the children at Little Princes Orphanage – as he came to learn they weren’t orphans, but in fact victims of child trafficking.
As soon as two siblings were reunited with their mother, Conor immediately set about trying to identify whether the other children could indeed have families too. He started telling friends, family, anyone who would listen about what was happening in Nepal and then set up his own charity, Next Generation Nepal, before opening another home in Nepal for the victims of child trafficking.
Despite the civil war, corruption, untold barriers and risking his life on rescue expeditions, Conor has worked tirelessly to reunite the children with their families.
Conor has since written a book called Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal, to raise awareness of child trafficking in Nepal and to tell the stories of his little princes. Oh, and he also met and married the woman of his dreams – whom he met as a result of his journey.
Talk about inspirational. Just goes to show, that sometimes in life, you have to take chances to find your path and not be afraid to be your authentic self. Conor has changed the lives of so many people because he opened himself up to a different experience, in doing so, he also discovered his true path and has changed other people’s lives in ways which can never be measured.
Don’t be afraid to take chances and and find your true path. It only takes one person to make a big difference in the world, why not become one of those people.
“BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD” - MAHATMA GANDHI
To learn more about Conor and Next Generation Nepal, watch the short video above.
Have you ever taken a chance in life and stumbled across your true path as a result? Ever look back at the life you could have had and feel so blessed that you took that chance? We’d love to hear your inspirational stories too.
