On February 26, 2012, Evelin’s Remembrance Day was celebrated which will be repeated yearly. The girls of the Deenabandhu Home for Girls in Machilipatnam, India went on a trip to Haai Land, a theme park, about a three hour drive from the Home for Girls.

The day was for the children an unforgettable experience, which is very touchingly expressed in the many letters of the girls and the report of the principal of the Home:

“I on behalf of the children am pleased to tell you that we spared time to recollect the memory of Evelin Christiane and spent some time to pray for her soul and for God’s continued grace & strength for you. Later there was a puppet show and an action song.  A little later, I took time to tell children about Evelin’s unconditional love and about how she preferred to be helpful, sweet and warm always spreading the rays of love and joy on people around her. Many children were inspired by her motives and prayed that they could also live a life like her. The two sponsored children of Ms. Herrmann also spoke about her. Then it was followed by a skit of children from 10th class. The children enacted the life of Evelin Christiane.”

The children were also given the opportunity to enjoy the pirate ship, flying elephant, carousel, wave pool, Rain Dance, and more. They were also given swimsuits and were able to swim in the pool. Words would not suffice to express their happiness.  In the program followed competitions in drawing, singing, games, bible quiz, etc., and the sketch about Evelin’s life as mentioned above, all in her memory. Prizes were given to the winners and one of the girls received as an all-round championship a memento with the photograph of Evelin.

We as sponsors received a spiral-bound book with affectionate and sometimes detailed letters of the girls and their very detailed drawings, which reflect the day and the dreams of the girls.  Some are drawn after a photo out of Evelin’s life, her portrait is also included, or on other drawings Evelin’s name is written next to a dream motif.  In addition, we received more than 300 photos, giving us the feeling of having been there.

Here are some of the happy faces.

In the Annual Report 2012 of the Kindernothilfe Foundation is the following excerpt with a quotation of the children:

“In the Deenabandhu Home for Girls in Machilipatnam all children agreed that their trip was the highlight of the whole year.  The trip was financed by the foster parent and sponsor Mrs. Herrmann in memory of her late daughter Countess Evelin Christiane von Bethusy-Huc: “When we heard about the trip and the remembrance day for Evelin Christiane, we were thrilled and started immediately to dream of that day, which was to take us to the amusement park “Haai Land”.  When the big day came on February 26, 2012, we were taken by bus to the park.  We were quite amazed that everything was so green and clean there.  Then we delved into the fun: Pirate ship, flying elephant, merry-go-round, water slides, a wave pool and many other attractions kept us out of breath. We even got swimsuits for the day. In between we got a super picnic with many delicacies. At the same time, we learned a lot about the life of Evelin Christiane on this day. In her memory we were able to enjoy this day. It was great and we still talk a lot about it!”