Phase 26: October to December 2005

The school is growing
For 22 hours 63 workers are carrying bucket for bucket of concrete up to a height of 5 meters. Then, in the early morning hours of the 3rd of December the ground of the 3rd floor of the International School Little Smile is finished. We say THANK YOU to all, who helped and who celebrated, represented by the flags of the cities Eichstätt, Landshut, Füssen and Lindau as well as Poing and ASL, a small topping-out ceremony with us.

Elke Kreitmeir is holding our Christ Child 2005 in her arms. The 10 day-old Tamil girl was given the name Tarushi on Christmas day, which means „star in the sky”. This name is also a thank-you to all the helpers in Germany, who lit like stars and guided us during this year of need and catastrophe.

Santa Claus under palm trees in the jungle in the mountains of Sri Lanka.
Manuel Kreitmeir is sweating underneath the mask and wrapped in a thick red coat, while handing more than 100 children of our workers their small Christmas presents. Already for the fifth time the workers of the children’s home are invited and receive presents on the first Christmas holiday.

Where two or three are assembled in my name …
More than 100 children and caretakers are assembling for the Christmas mass. The garage in the children’s home has been nicely decorated by the volunteers Maja and Karin. Everybody sitting here, no matter which religion, is feeling the very special energy of the Christ holiday and prayers, songs and prayers of the faithful we also included the big Little Smile family in Germany in our community.

Our small Christmas celebration is started by Niluka with a dance of lights. The 16-year- old girl has been living in the children home for 5 years and has just finished her school exams. She is getting closer to her big dream of becoming a dancer, because this degree is the prerequisite to enter a dancing school.

Nobody knows better to share happiness than Ranjith. Sick, retarded and weak this 10-year old boy was brought to the children’s home 4 years ago. Today he is proudly testing carrying his Christmas gift. 50 of these school bags were delivered to the children’s home. THANK YOU!

Taking time for the sick and weak people especially on this day. The team of Little Smile is visiting the provisional children’s ward of the Ashraff Memorial Hospital. This small boy now has already been lying apathetically in his bed for one year. Will anybody be able to help him? We will try it in any case. This is the reason why we are working together with the organizations „Pharmacists without borders“ and UNESCO to build a children’s hospital and better reach people with medical care.

Thanks to the help from Germany we are able to hand over 3 new houses to Tsunami widows with children on this second Christmas holiday...

...These buildings surrounded by ruins on the beach of Kalmunai are a sign of hope and show that life can and will go on. 7 widows will live in two of these houses with their children.

The third house is given to a Tamil woman, who will live there with here 11 children. The oldest daughter is opening the small Hindu ceremony and welcomes Michael Kreitmeir by painting a coloured point on his forehead.

Manuel Kreitmeir, the 19-year-old son of the founder of Little Smile Michael Kreitmeir, experienced the threats of the Tsunami in Kalmunai. On the first anniversary he is cutting the band and by that handing over another house to women with children, who were only able to save their own lives from the flood.

In memory to a long-standing friend
Bandula, companion of the first hour and comrade-in-arms for years, would have been 49 years old on 26th of December. Two days later, on the 28th of December, Michael Kreitmeir and his sons Manuel and Marco as well as the entire Little Smile family are assembling in the temple of Koslanda. With an “arms-giving” we remember him, the former manager of the children’s home who lost his life much too early because of a terrible crime.

Stars of hope also in year 2005
A film team from the Bavarian Television for the benefit programme STERNSTUNDEN, which is already for years supporting Little Smile to help, comes to Sri Lanka. In a very poor and from Tsunami as well as from the civil war destroyed area, near the city of Batticaloa, STERNSTUNDEN will help Litte Smile to renovate a girl’s home and built an additional house for children, who need family, home and security.

After more than 3 years Philipp Schreistetter comes back to the children’s village. Together with Michael Kreitmeir he visits also Little Smile projects in Galle and at the East coast. In night-work on the computer-cutting-place he helps mainly to finish the new Little Smile 2005 film on DVD in time for the new year.

Till exhaustion for humanity
A photo that is saying more than words can do! Anton Weresingha felt asleep sometime in the night at the desk in our centre in Kalmunai. Without break he and many others within Little Smile were on the way, tried to reduce need on a long term base. Nobody from the leading team of Little Smile took only one day of holiday since the day of the Tsunami catastrophe. Tired, exhausted but also a little bit proud we look back on that, what we – despite intrigues and attacks – were able to serve to others. The year 2006 could be a little bit less hectic!