First Antips volunteers arrive on Hithadhoo, Maldives

COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Sports Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Caitlyn Swinney

Stepping off the plane in Male, the volunteers were struck by two things; the incredible crystal clear turquoise water and the immense heat. The pilot said the air temperature was 31 degrees so we thought oh yeah this will be okay, but no, the humidity practically doubled the temperature. It's been a few days now and we like to think we're getting used to the weather, although it could just be due to the heavy rain thats been falling for the past 2 days. Because of this we have only been able to conduct 1 swimming lesson, but from all reports it has been well received with even more parents and kids signing up for next week.

The volunteer group all had so much fun teaching the children and are really excited for the coming lessons. Hospital has been an interesting experience so far. Circumcision season is upon us, which gave us another perspective of the culture as this is a celebration, with the whole family visiting the hospital and throwing a big party in the patient’s honour. We are conducting paramedic training for the nurses twice a week beginning next week, as they believe it will be very beneficial due to the lack of trauma knowledge and the high prevalence of road traffic accidents.

The hospital as expected is quite different to Australian hospitals; the volunteers need to take off our shoes entering most wards and instead put on the thongs provided. It has also been very quiet at times. Though overall, it has been a good learning experience so far.

The guitar lessons held each day by Mark, another person volunteering, have made him a bit of a rock star around the island, as the kids are very enthusiastic to learn and are making good progress. We have been snorkelling almost every day and are going out to an uninhibited island with the excursion team today to snorkel at one of the many reefs.

So far we have seen a turtle and many handsome fish and we are all hoping today brings even more! The day after we arrived we met the Mayor and the local councillors who were very welcoming and the Mayor even set us up with a complimentary trip to shangri-la resort for tomorrow. Our meeting with the local council even made the front page of the newspaper!! The food has been extremely delicious so far, having tuna for almost every meal including breakfast although we have also had hot chips with fried chicken and mash potato with beef for lunch. Suna and Misbah have been amazing in welcoming us to the island, showing us around and sorting out our problems. We would have been unable to settle in as well as we have without them.