'I Was Here' - Maldives adventure comes to an end

COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Swimming Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Erin Smith

And so the time that everyone dreaded/anticipated/never thought would come, is finally here. We have had such a jam packed week that the past few days seem to have literally flown by. The past four weeks have been such an awesome, challenging and inspiring experience, it's hard to believe it's almost all over.

Last Thursday went extremely well with the first aid class being received extremely well. We were also fortunate enough to be able to donate some basic first aid equipment for the school to keep. The afternoon beach clean up was also a success with us collecting countless large bags of rubbish. It is so sad to see the beautiful beaches in this condition, however we positioned some huge bins around and managed to draw lots of attention with our clean up. We are hoping our example will encourage others to be responsible about their waste.

We began our week with a relatively quiet weekend, organising ourselves for the week ahead and taking, what we considering, was a well earned break. We journeyed to yet another secluded corner of the island on Friday night for a sunset BBQ, prepared by Maldivian chef royalty. The food was great, the company was even better, and we all relaxed by the fire and the sound of the ocean. On Saturday night we took our ICP's and their family out to dinner in an attempt to demonstrate our immense gratitude. We then trekked home for a decent night sleep before the hectic day that would be Sunday.

Despite Sunday being a public holiday at the schools, we all woke nice and early, ready and rearing to get down to business. We had the mission of painting the entire children's ward ahead of us and upon arrival, we had no idea how we were going to do it. Paintbrushes and pencils at the ready we broke up into teams and were designated a wall, or in Georgia and my case, a whole room, to conquer. In no time at all however, the ward came to life. We had countless visitors throughout the day as word spread, many of which offered a helping hand. Even patients from other wards were getting up and coming over to visit us. It became apparent that no task like this had even been attempted before. By lunch time we were more than halfway, and by 5:30pm, we we're finished. One day, one completely transformed children's ward. The walls now depicted images of space, under the sea, the sky, a farm and the jungle. Running on empty, we all returned home with a huge sense of accomplishment and pride at what we had been able to achieve.

On Monday we had a slightly later start than normal thank goodness, and headed off to another island to visit the school of Feydhoo for a culture day. We split up and taught the primary students all about our animals, aboriginal culture, music, food and Aussie slang. The children were extremely enthusiastic, buzzing with questions and energy. It was such a worthwhile experience and we all felt like celebrities when the students and parents insisted on shaking our hands and taking photos with us.

Tuesday commenced as normal with everyone returning to their everyday routine. The girls at Sharrafuddin school began their final two days and were surprised by their teachers with presents and a lunch out. On assembly on Wednesday we were publicly thanked for our work at the school and presented with certificates of appreciation. Jess, who had generously organised to bring some laptops to donate, was able to pass on the gifts to the principle. The laptops will go to great use in the Special Education class who are all very excited. That afternoon our teachers shouted us lunch and presented us with traditional Maldivian gifts. It was a bitter sweet farewell and all the teachers expressed their well wishes and said they would miss us immensely.

Josh and the girls at Hithadhoo had an exciting final day as well. Upon arrival they were taken to the oval where they were surprised with an organised picnic with their grade 1's and 2's. Their teachers then herded them off to be redressed in traditional Maldivian clothes, complete with hair accessories. The celebrations continued with cake, photos, certificates and a huge pile of parcels from both teachers and students. Normal lessons for the rest of the day were cancelled and the Antips had time to pass on their souvenirs and say goodbye to their class for the last time.

Cait also had a rough farewell with her little students at Kangaroo Kids. The teachers and children will all be very sad to see her go and she will be sorely missed.

Swimming lessons have now sadly finished for both groups. The afternoon group finished on Tuesday afternoon and present the class with kick boards and goggles as a congratulations on the progress they had made and as an incentive to keep at swimming. I managed to convince one girl that she was so good, she'd be at the Olympics in no time. She assured me it would be for butterfly though, the crazy girl! The morning group finished on Wednesday morning and had organised certificates for all the dedicated swimmers.

The hospital gang had a busy week this week with multiple surgeries and a birth on the agenda. After welcoming a little baby girl into the world and helping stitch some patients back together it was time for them too to bid farewell. On Thursday an afternoon tea was put on in their honour and there was many tearful speeches of thank you. Myself and Georgia were lucky enough to be included as we passed on the medical equipment we had been able to purchase for them with our donation funds. It was a touching afternoon and a great way to finish the week.

On Wednesday afternoon we had a final meeting with the mayor. He congratulated us on our stay and thanked us for everything we had achieved during our time at Hithdhoo. We were even presented with hand painting coconuts and certificates from the city of Addu. On Thursday night, continuing in the spirit of farewells, we had our final dinner with our in country friends and each other. They had prepared a video of our time here on the island with backing vocal from Beyoncé's 'I Was Here.' They blew us away yet again with their kindness and generosity and we all celebrated the time we have shared on this incredible island.

This weekend we will all be heading in different directions. Jess will join her parents for a weeks holiday in the Maldives, the boys will be leaving at different times and heading both home and on to more destinations. Some girls will stay on for 3 or more days and the rest will return home on the 8th. Thursday will be another quiet day as a few of the girls prepare to leave early the following morning. They will spend their last night on Paradise island at the resort. Eight of us will join them the following day for three nights and have a cross over of a few hours before the others head home. It's crazy to think that after spending all day every day with these amazing people, in just a few days we won't be seeing some for a very long time. Nevertheless, it's safe to say that we have friends for life, and it will take a lot more than a few hundred kilometres to keep this family apart.