So I was mildly surprised when I opened this book to find that here, each of the alphabets stood as a symbol for countries in desperate need, who are crying out to us for help, but the alienation and apathy deeply embedded in our society prevents us from hearing their cries. The alphabets here take on a more menacing role- they take us through a morbidly informative voyage of the human condition in these countries, especially stressing on the plight of the children- undoubtedly a brilliant portrayal of the responsibilities these alphabets must shoulder.

A for AFGANISTAN, B for BANGLADESH, C for CAMBODIA, D for DJIBOUTI…the list goes on…

Each of these countries are in grave danger, most of them war ridden, impoverished or under the shackles of a dictatorial rule. The story is similar, the rich are a small minority while the poor are starving and dying- the disparity between the two is appalling.

CARYN WEST, a commercial artist is deeply passionate about humanitarian projects and conceiving this book in 2006, she decided to speak out against injustices meted out to the helpless. She has become the relentless voice of the little Nepalese girl who is dying of AIDS at the age of 7, having been raped and abused multiple times. She is the voice of the Zimbabwean boy whose parents are dead from AIDS and he’s left homeless and loveless. She is the soul of these troubled little children to whom hope is an alien concept and simple things like food and dignity are abstractions.

It’s rather a courageous effort on CARYN’S part to speak out clearly against these atrocities, not afraid to name names and by no means sugar coating the pill to make it more affable. This is by no means a coffee book for light reading before your hair dresser is ready for your appointment. Be ready to get shell shocked and stupefied at the amount of disturbing information given here. But this info is absolutely necessary…for us, our children and for the FUTURE. WE MUST KNOW THESE FACTS.

Recently America has come under a lot of scrutiny for environmental issues, for the pro-war policy of the Bush Government and many other controversial issues.

This book is in fact that much more interesting coming from an American author at this time and CARYN’S empathy resonates in every chapter. She genuinely feels for these children, women and men, not from a holier-than-thou perspective, but as a fellow human being.

This melody of love and respect make this book a symphony for all to absorb and understand and then contribute, each in their own way.

The prelude to each chapter is a poem written from the point of view of a child from that particular country. These poems, although simple, instantly evoke an elegiac tone that makes you sit up and take notice. In fact it’s these little poems that got my attention, while reading; I tried to hide the tears that rolled down my cheeks. By the time I finished reading the book I must say that I was horrified, amazed, shocked and felt so many indescribable things that changed my life forever.

I felt what the little children go through in Cambodia, Fiji, and Guatemala. I saw the horrors from their eyes and relived it.

CARYN has underlined the problem with each of these countries very thoroughly; also providing the contact of the NGO’S who work to alleviate the misery. So a concerned individual who really wants to do something can do so now…it’s possible!

The kind of detailing provided here is immense- I discovered so many facts- like “81% of Haiti’s population doesn’t get minimum daily ration of food according to the W.H.O.”, or the fact that the Army of Myanmar regularly attacks civilians, burn villages and use slave labor forcing thousands to flee. These facts are mostly covered up by the media as they are too volatile.

Each Chapter, symbolic and possessing a deeper meaning, has a melancholic name followed by a quotation from an eminent personality; the echo of suffering is audible just by running your eyes through them. Every bit of information given by the author is very passionate and the style of writing is deeply personalized making this such an unbelievable experience.

At times you feel the disillusionment of the author in the Western society- its apathy, its greed and lust. Caryn has also illustrated the inefficacy of the U.N and globally a lot of discontent has been growing towards it.

This book couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Today a lot more is possible with the advent of technology and the path to altruism is possible to tread on by all of us. So lets join hands and come together and help people in need- I feel that’s what the writer is trying to convey. If every one contacted a single NGO and helped out in whatever way possible, life will take on a new meaning.

We live to die; if death didn’t exist, there would be no life, only existence…so it’s important to make this life count…its priceless to see a smile on the face of a rescued child…

It may sound like only a dream initially, but the dreams can pass into the reality of action and from this action stems the dream again; this interdependence is the highest form of living…and a new tomorrow waits!!!