Phase 55: April to June 2013

The first days are the most difficult ones – everything is new and unfamiliar. And because Chamilla and Grace do remember very well how the first days and weeks felt when they came to Little Smile, they now assist the new children who have come to the children’s village in April, to settle in.

In mid April, at the Singhalese New Year, there are always two weeks school holidays. And if you have your own bus, you should first have it blessed in Kataragama and second make a joint trip. And so on our first outing with the Little Smile bus we went to this Buddhist and Hindu place of pilgrimage in the south of Sri Lanka. Samire, a former Little Smile boy awaited us there.

Samire and his three sisters grew up in the children’s village. For 3 years now he has been living and working in Kataragama. Therefore, it is only natural for him to show his Little Smile brothers and sisters his new home. Hard to imagine, that Samire was only slightly older than Buddika and Rogi who he is looking after as they bathe in the river when he came to Little Smile.

Little Smile takes care of a number of children’s homes, such as the one near Monaragala. Whenever possible, Michael Kreitmeir visits the children there. And every time Lokuthatha is coming there is a big hello. At the same time it offers the possibility for the children to talk about their sorrows and problems.

A very special gift waits for Michael Kreitmeir at Easter – a little shepherd dog from the farm in Dikkapitia. Actually, he does not have enough time to take care well enough of this little puppy, says the director of Little Smile, but then he surrenders to the charm of the silver-grey dog, giving it the name Hektor.

At the beginning of May it is time to say good bye for Anita (left) – at least temporarily. Since there are not enough qualified teachers in the remote mountain region of Koslanda and thus good Tamil pupils don’t have the chance to finish their A-level, Anita has to move to the eastern coast for her studies for 2 years. Divia, who had already studied there and later returned to the children’s village, accompanies her on this journey to a new world. It’s a hard step for Anita to leave the children’s village after 11 years and shortly after a break at this lake the tears start running.

Mid-May the first sports festival is celebrated at the Maria Theresia collage in Kalmunai. Sister Lucrece proudly presents the international school 18 months after the inauguration. Here you see Sister Lucrece during one of the numerous prize-givings.

Michael Kreitmeir never forgot the time he spent innocently in the jail of Monaragala. And he still remembers his former fellow prisoners and visits them on a regular basis. It is almost three years since he shared a small prison cell with 11 other prisoners. So many things have happened in Michael Kreitmeir’s life since then, so many things he realized during that time whereas for Ranjith every day is the same behind bars – except when Mister Mikel pays a visit.

A mere visit of his former fellow prisoners is not enough for Michael Kreitmeir. He wants to do something for them, something that really makes sense, like a training to ease their return to life after their long period of imprisonment. Therefore, Little Smile is going to build a training centre in the prison of Monaragala.