Sonali Raha meets a German doctor flying around the world in his helicopter to help orphaned children

Dr Michael Schmitz stood with his back to Dubai Creek and the landmark buildings lining its Deira bank and smiled, crinkling up his eyes and throwing his arms wide open. In that one gesture, he embraced destitute children all over the world.
However, his concern for the children is not limited to gestures. He is flying around the world, alone, in his personal helicopter, hoping to raise awareness and funds for children in need everywhere. He is personally paying for the "Global heli art tour", believing all money garnered should go to the children. He is seeking cash or artworks that can be used to generate cash. Schmitz, 39, a medical doctor as well as a dental surgeon specialising in aesthetic dentistry and implantology, is a German living and working in Rome for the last 10 years. He is the founder-president of Kinderbaum (Children's Tree) Foundation, a Zug, Switzerland-based organisation committed to helping children worldwide. "We want to help orphans and refugee children all over the world. We help children of all cultures, all religions, with no discrimination. The staff of our foundation is also multi-racial. We believe that when children are raised in tolerance and peace, they will grow up to make the world more peaceful," he said. Schmitz had stopped in Dubai for 42 hours. (He landed at 10.00am on Monday and flew off at 4.00am on Wednesday.) He flew in from Qatar and was flying onwards to Iran. He had already travelled 3,000 nautical miles (5,500 kms), crossed seven countries, flown for 35 hours and used 2,000 litres of aviation fuel in the first leg of his world tour. He had been on tour since July 22.

Dr Schmitz sets off on his world tour from Rome on his R44 on July 22.

"I'm flying to raise funds for the foundation's first project," he explained. "We will build our first orphanage at Mpumalanga, South Africa, just outside the Kruger National Park. We chose South Africa because this is a country where parents often die of AIDS and we want to help the children. It is also a country which now shows that tolerance between different cultures and religions work well." The institute will be part orphanage, part safari lodge. "I believe it is not enough to give orphans a home, we must also give them a future. We want to stop children from going the wrong way when they grow up. Here they will be trained in a lot of jobs - ranger, guide, secretary, driver, etc. - and money from the lodge will go to fund and run the orphanage. "The children will also help with orphaned animals. This will benefit them psychologically. It will show them they are not alone in the world," Schmitz said. This orphanage will be the first project of the foundation. He hopes the foundation can move on to other projects afterwards. "I like children. I think they are our future, our hope. I was raised in a very happy family. I had a very good childhood, my parents are still married. I want to give something back. I treat all my child patients for free. I'm healthy, I'm happy, I want to do as many things for children as I can," he underlined. The helicopter tour, he agreed, is strenuous and difficult. "It needs physical fitness and organisation. I'm reasonably fit because I do skiing, mountain biking and climbing - everything, really. "I'm a professional helicopter pilot, in an emergency I can land the helicopter in a 20 metre by 20 metre square, if there are no tall buildings around. But it is still scary flying over water with a single engine helicopter." Schmitz found flying over the Arabian desert also very strenuous. "I had to land at a gas station 150 kms north-west of Dammam. The police came. I explained I had high oil temperature and was forced to land. I stayed at a hotel, with two guards keeping an eye on me. The police official kindly sent me some food and later I was on my way again," he remembered. Much of the difficulty lies in obtaining permissions to fly over airspace. Hadith International of Syria is helping in flight planning and overflight permissions, free of charge, he said. Schmitz welcomes all support whether in the form of contributions or suggestions (e-mail: Schmitz@Kinderbaum.org). Further details about the Kinderbaum Foundation and the "Global Heli Art Tour" can be found on the organisation's website (www.Kinderbaum.org).