We began the new Buddhist year, 2550, on the morning of April 14 with the waving of our flags. Included was also the Bavarian flag. Michael Kreitmeir has had very little time to visit his home in Germany, but everything which is achieved here would not be possible without the help from his old home country. Cities, clubs, companies and people from Bavaria are engaged in Little Smile and so, the white and blue wind on our backs is not just symbolic.
Phase 28: April to June 2006  The Christian Good Friday and the Buddhistic New Year's festival happened on the same day in 2006. In Little Smile the New Year's festival and the Easter festival were brought hand in hand. Samire also expressed his thoughts about the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, like all other children in Little Smile, through a painted picture.
 We had lots of fun with the story of the king who always wanted to jump around in his bed. The actress, Susann Wuerth, had visited the children's village and in the evening had given a performance. After the show was over, Robin wanted to get a closer look at how this hand with a crown could make the puppet come to life.
 Spices for a smile
For your information! Guido Massmann, managing director of AVO, visited the children’s village in Koslanda together with his friend Bernd Bös. This spice-industry professional was enthusiastic about the quality of Little Smile products. No matter that vanilla, cinnamon, gloves or pepper- everything cultivated in the plantations of the children’s village get a lot of sun, but no chemicals. Therefore the manager is promising to order more spices and, together. we will crank up the action "Little Smile sausage".  Need has many faces
Everyday needy people knock on the gate of the children’s village. Rising prices, the fear of a new civil war and inability is already apparent in many social authorities. Need comes from many situations and has many faces. Sama Dissaranajke is autistic and unable to communicate with her environment. Her parents are very poor and completely overtaxed. No authority is taking responsibility, nobody is helping. Therefore the parents came, together with her 13-year-old daughter, to Little Smile.  Need has many reasons
As if the fear of civil war and the need were not be enough. Wild elephants, searching for salt, destroyed the hut of this old woman completely. She and her 3 young grandchildren don’t have a home anymore. Theoretically this woman can expect help from government, but no one there cares about her and the small girls because they are Tamils. Only Little Smile can give hope to these people.  Stage-win for humanity
Tarushani, our Christ child 2005 got back to not only her mother but also her sisters and brothers because of our help. In June the former foundling can move into a small hut. Little Smile gave land and helped to build the hut. This gives us also the opportunity to accompany the small girl on her way.  Fear against a new wave of violence
Even in Parliament there are fights between the representatives. Day by day the conflict between Tamil and Sinhalese people is growing. In June the peace talks between the government and the Tamil Separatists in the north and east were broken. The spiral of violence is spinning faster and faster. Around the children’s village in the mountains of Sri Lanka it is still calm, since for centuries Tamils and Sinhalese people have been living together in this region. But here, too, you can feel the fear and the uncertainty, especially among the poor Tamil tea pickers.  Arrival of donations from Füssen
After fighting for 27 days with the custom authorities, we got it. The donations, which had been organized by Lenka Rühle and Uli Pickl from Füssen, are seen arriving in the childrens’ village. The boxes form long rows and are brought to different store rooms.  A smile from Allgäu
Tamil girl Wasanti faces a difficult choice: Each child is allowed to choose from the cloth donations. This takes time when you have 80 children! We are especially happy about the high-quality spare parts for the carpentry where, at the moment, we produce the furniture for our International School. Thanks to Lenka, Uli and all the donators!  Success stories from the "Little Smile – Tsunami front"
In June we are able to hand over houses to Tsunami victims thanks to whether the city of Halle in Westfalen, the village of Poing in Bavaria or the organisations STERNSTUNDEN and CHILDREN FOR A BETTER WORLD. Because of the unprecedented help through you and our work, more than 20 families on the south and also on the east coast were given a new home and, with it, new hope.  More than a straw fire – a newspaper makes mobile
A stage-win for humanity. Like many others, the newspaper ‘Saarbrücker Zeitung’ created a special bank account for donations after the Tsunami catastrophe. But, unlike the others, this newspaper keeps their readers informed regularly. Therefore this widow and their 3 children are not the only ones who were helped trough the SZ readers.  Only together are we strong enough
In his search for allies Michael Kreitmeir got in touch with the sisters in Hiniduma. Far away from the tourist path, these convent sisters have been caring for poor and disadvantaged girls for 39 years already. Their donators have all died and they did not get a single Rupie of Tsunami money for their place in the outmost back country. From 48 training places only 9 are covered because there is no longer enough money for the daily ration of rice. Little Smile will help, so that these strong women can continue to help in future.  Building new living spaces
Who wants to give more than just alms and a roof over head has to go deeper, has to dig a long time, for example for water. In the dry zone between Buttala and Monuragala, one of the poorest regions of Sri Lanka, an agricultural centre is growing, because of Little Smile. We have dug big reservoirs to store water to give widows with children, who will live here later on, training and work and to build the groundwork for an autonomous life. Such projects are only possible because donators like the Korff-Stiftung do not insist on fast results but, rather, giving us enough time to realize projects that will help in the long term.  Showing new perspectives
With work comes independence! This is the only way for widows and abandoned women with their children to escape from the circle of need, dependency and violence; the only way to create a future for themselves and their children. That’s why projects for these women are so important to Little Smile. It is difficult, however, in a country where violence against women is a sad reality. |