1300 Days of Laamu

I first came to Laamu almost 10 years ago with the British Red Cross as a community mobiliser in Isdhoo. I was 22, and had gone through a major upheaval in my life. I had freshly left a four-year career in aviation, somewhere I always wanted to work in, as a kid.

I also left behind a very sheltered life in Malé.

I was one of those individuals who would have never given two thoughts about how people lived their lives in islands outside of the capital of Maldives, mainly because back then, I had not traveled to the islands so much to have an idea of what it’s like.

Isdhoo: the northern tip of Laamu Atoll

So Laamu, particularly Isdhoo, was a shock to me, because I missed all of the things I took for granted. Basic needs like proper waste management, fresh running water, and transport, and things that I don’t even have to think about, like electricity. I got used to being electrocuted daily, by touching the metal surface of the laptop that I was supposed to work on.

I never owned a motorbike in Malé, because I loved walking. But walking in Isdhoo was not very practical because it’s pretty big, and entire swaths of it is just fields and coconut trees; you wouldn’t want to be in between Isdhoo and Kalaidhoo after dark.

It’s about the same in Gan and Fonadhoo. These are amongst the largest islands in the Maldivian archipelago. Also, every time I go to Malé, everyone is surprised that I am still alive while living in Laamu Atoll, because of a reputation that the people are hard to deal with.

Doesn’t do justice, really.

I still remember the exact moment that I fell in love with Laamu.

It was a beautiful morning, the sea was almost a mirror the day that I arrived, the speedboat skimming the gleaming, impossibly saturated turquoise waters and zooming past the tiny little islands that line the channel cut into the Isdhoo lagoon.

Every time I pass through that channel, I am taken back to that first memory.

I desperately wanted to see the rest of the islands in Laamu, but only got to visit Maabaidhoo and Fonadhoo, and I soon had to change to Buruni in Thaa Atoll. From there, I moved back to Malé once my assignment was over, and went on to explore other atolls.

But you know, I have to tell you, not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be coming back to Laamu.

My beloved team, just out the airport on the 3rd of April, 2014.

When I first heard about the LECReD programme for Laamu, I was thrilled. I was so lucky to have been selected, and had flown down on a warm, sunny day on the 3rd of April in 2014 with my team, a rare collection of experienced, talented people.

Over the years, contracts had ended and some people chose to move on, and only myself and my boss had stayed on.

Today, the 25th of October, 2017, is the 1300th day that we have been here.

It had not been an easy 3 and half years. Although I made friends easily, I missed the life I left behind in Malé, I missed my closest friends… but most of all, I also missed so many things I took for granted.

Like for example, having the option to hail a cab without having to pay a minimum of MVR 150. Or having an endless choice of restaurants to go to. Or not having to pay flight tickets every time I need to get new glasses.

It’s been 10 years since I first came to Laamu, and yes, things are different from what it used to be a decade ago. You might not have seen many big projects… that was one of the most frequently asked questions about our being here.

But I personally believe our work here has made a difference, because we have laid a very strong foundation of skills and guidelines for evidence based planning for the future.

Dusk at Mukurimagu Harbor

1300 days later, I no longer miss the capital. Not because there are more restaurants, or gyms or opticians, or that there are cheaper taxis. There aren’t. I don’t miss Malé City, because the benefits of being in Laamu outweigh any convenience that I felt back in Malé.

Simply, I have fallen deeply in love with the peace and quiet of Laamu. I am amazed with the open hearted love that you will never experience in any other atoll of the Maldives. I think that is what makes people so wary of the people from Hadhunmathee Atoll.

The people of Laamu are not afraid of being frank, honest and open hearted, and that might be a bit uncomfortable to the people of Malé because the city folk are more reticent.

Which probably is why I feel so much at home in Laamu. Yes, this atoll is exquisite in all its natural glory, but it is the people that makes Laamu truly magical.

Flying over Gaadhoo, and in the background, the southern reef of Laamu stretches toward the horizon.

To my team, even though most have moved on: you are the creme de la creme of talented persons I have had the privilege to work with, in the field. Not only are you all vastly skilled, you all have been amazing company, and I have learned so much from all of you.

To my colleagues in Malé and abroad, and those who have left the programme after their term had ended, it has always been a pleasure to be the face of all your hard work, to accept platitudes on your behalf, and also to listen to concerns. To watch all your work come to life in front of our eyes, it is again, a privilege. To see a change, over months, over years… there aren’t words to describe it.

I just want to tell all of you, thank you.

You all mean a lot to me, to have shared laughter, to have had a lot of fun, to have been there through the tears. And even though we had all those intense debates, we all have done a lot of good work, to reach an intangible yet very real goal.

To the people of Laamu… I can never erase this life-changing experience. I gave you the best years of my youth, and in return, you have made me a man. I will always be in awe of the kindness and love that you all have given me. Of all the patience. Of all the beautiful memories.

Dawn at Munyafushi

I am leaving Laamu in 5 days, and the entire month of October I have been outside at the harbor trying to package the peace and quiet in my heart, and engrave in my mind the wonderful company of a lot of people from every walk of life, each in their own story, on their own journey.

I am glad to have been a part of your lives. I am glad we have crossed paths. And I know that even as I leave to write my own life and to continue on my own journey, like the tides that bring back the sea, I too, will always come back to my Laamu family.

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