Phase 57: October to December 2013

The person who visits Mahagedara Children’s Village, moreover in the evening, like these Catholic Sisters from Colombo do, should better bring a pocket lamp. Power blackouts are the order of the day, respectively the night. And the one who doesn’t see where to step can be glad if only receiving a flesh wound, like it happened to this young Sister. After the medication of Michael Kreitmeir all are happy again.

8-year-old Darshani has been severely disabled since her birth. The girl isn’t able to move along, not even crawl. Neither can she talk nor eat on her own. The only joy she has is to watch the old TV, the poor family got as a present. This, of course increasingly causes her difficulty because she isn’t able to sit independently. In most cases it means great misery to be severely disabled in a developing country. Indeed, sometimes it doesn’t need much to bless such an afflicted being, for instance a buggy in which you can lie without getting bedsore and which can be adjusted to ensure watching TV without any pain.

The poorer and less educated people in a region the more frequent children become mothers. To avoid the shame for the family it is not uncommon to change birth certificates in order to alter a 14-year-old into an adult. However, the child-mothers are often overwhelmed by this new role. For that reason the endless spiral of misery and violence starts anew.

A sad moment! End of October 2013 Father Benny (left-hand side) handed back the keys for an estate which was left to the Franciscans from Little Smile about five years ago. In the mountains, the order wanted to create a place where young people get delighted with charitableness and love for nature. After many attempts Benny had to accept that time is not ripe yet for the Franciscans and their mission in Sri Lanka. Due to that Michael Kreitmeir has to say farewell to one of a few true friends, because Father Benny is going to head back to the Philippines.

In November the main harvest of Mangos starts and Little Smile owns some hundred old trees in the steppe of Buttala. It gives a lot of work to the adults, but the children have fun, especially while jam is cooked, because plenty of flesh remains on the stones, which is then licked off with relish.

Chamilla allowed herself plenty of time. The lank girl didn’t want to become a “big girl”. By the time it happened after all and she got her first menstruation with 15 years and three months, Chamilla was extraordinary happy to be a “big one”. But maybe it also was because one gets new clothes, shoes and the first gold jewelry at the associated celebration.