First aid, caesarians, and swimming lessons in the Maldives, Week 2

COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Sports Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Lauren Hansen

Week two on the island has been interesting and full of ups and downs! The snorkeling trip to the uninhabited island last weekend was absolutely amazing. The water was crystal clear and we all enjoyed the day in the sun, playing beach soccer and racing hermit crabs on our private island. We stayed for sunset before jumping back in the boats and heading home. The excursion team took us down to the Equator Village Resort in Gan the following evening where we had a buffet dinner and hit the dance floor.

To finish off the weekend we conducted a beach cleanup, which was rather eye opening. It was hard to feel like we were accomplishing anything with the amount of rubbish on the beach but with the help of the local rowing team we were able to fill a truck with bags of rubbish that we took to the tip.

School has now started and the kids are adorable!

The schools are “English medium schools”, meaning the majority of lessons are taught in English, so those of us at the schools have been teaching English but also helping in Maths, Science, Social Studies and P.E. The kids enjoy having us in the classroom, thanking us with drawings and smiles and the teachers have expressed how good it is for the students English to have us there.

Our first day at Sharafuddin School was interesting to say the least. The children were required to stand outside for over an hour during an opening assembly, resulting in nearly 100 kids passing out and vomiting from the heat and not having had breakfast. The shortage of first aid knowledge on the island is worrying at times, however we have began training teachers in first aid so that these types of incidents may be reduced. The number of patients being admitted to hospital with head injuries due to the driving conditions on the island is also alarming. The nurses have seen multiple motorbike accidents requiring facial suturing as a result of poor safety regulations and existing road rules.

At the hospital this week the nursing students witnessed a caesarian! They were amazed by the process and were allowed to hold the newborn baby. Deciding the hospital setting wasn’t for her, Kara has started volunteering at the local preschool where she has been teaching English, playing soccer and dancing with the kids - putting all her energy to better use!

A highlight for Ben this week was his holding a Brazilian macaw and feeding an alligator gai (a type of large fish). Gabby, Jamie and I (Lauren) got to hold a turtle while we were out snorkeling at night. And Amber caught the biggest Barracuda while out on a fishing trip. This morning we took a “traditional cooking” lesson. The food, which included Amber’s barracuda, all tasted amazing!

Swimming lessons have started for both schools. The teachers from Sharafuddin are progressing well and are now able to do basic freestyle thanks to Ben, Nat, Gabby and Caity who have volunteered to teach them on their days off.

Jamie, Hannah, Ashleigh and I have also started swimming lessons for the grade three students at Hithadoo School and I look forward to seeing their improvements over the next few weeks. The first aid courses at Hithadoo School have also been quite successful and we have started putting together a first aid kit as a resource for the school with the teachers help. In addition to their work at the hospital, the nurses are beginning their first aid training for a local business in the coming week. We are all looking forward to the week ahead and will do our best to keep you updated despite the poor internet here at the Guesthouse trying to cut us off!