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FROM THE FIELD

Maldives: Ahmed's story, the begining of a new life in Dhuvaaafaru
09 Feb 2009 13:37:00 GMT
 Source: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - Switzerland
Necephor Mghendi , International Federation in the Maldives

Website: Website: http://www.ifrc.org/tsunami

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Just one final step to go: Community members arrive for the lottery. (p18902)
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Just one final step to go: Community members arrive for the lottery. (p18902)
International Federation

Background

•  Climate change

•  Indian Ocean tsunami

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Twenty-year-old Ahmed Mohamed hums a tune as he pushes the loaded wheelbarrow piled high with lunch packs. It is 12:30 pm - the sun is glaring fiercely above Dhuvaafaru and the temperatures have hit 31 degrees Celsius.

Earlier in the morning, Ahmed - or Dhonna, as his friends call him - had been acting as lottery staff, then a security officer, and then a guide. But now Ahmed has more serious business - making sure that the team of 50-plus women and men running the house lottery get their lunches.

My colleague, Mariyam, had a chat with him a few minutes later after he had delivered all the lunch packs. He said that he had taken two days off from his job as a social worker in charge of Raa Atoll's family and children's service to help the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) conduct a lottery in preparation for the relocation of his tsunami-affected community to the island of Dhuvaafaru. He sheepishly added that he also wanted to witness his father pick - from the draw - the houses that would be their new home.

The Dhuvaafaru project is the biggest in the IFRC's history. When work began in April 2006, the 40-hectare coral island was uninhabited. In just under three years, and at a cost of 35.6 million Swiss francs, it has been transformed into a thriving community that now boasts 600 new houses, three schools, one mosque, a health centre and an island administration block complete with auditorium and sports stadium.

Ahmed's family have received two houses. With his two sisters, who are married to men from the nearby and former host island of Ungoofaaru, his family has just enough rooms for everyone: his parents, himself and his four brothers.

"But this might change if my sisters or extended family members decide to visit - I might have to sleep in the sitting room," he notes.

He added that he was happy because Dhuvaafaru is just ten minutes away from Ungoofaaru by speedboat. "I will continue doing my job and seeing my sisters while dedicating free time to making my new island a better place."

Besides lending a hand during the lottery, Ahmed is a key member of a youth group that had earlier sought support from the IFRC to sensitize the community about environmental and social issues. IFRC provided them with the means of transport, and by the end of December 2008 the group had conducted awareness sessions on two islands.

Ahmed explains: "Our presentations are focused on waste management, which is one of the biggest problems facing most islands in the Maldives today."

He added that as their community is moving to a new, clean island they must learn to keep it pristine and beautiful. "That is why we are taking every little opportunity to create awareness and to provide information on proper management of household waste," he says.

When asked what his dream was for Dhuvaafaru, he said, "to mould teenagers who roam idly into hardworking youths. If I can do something - however small - to bring that generation back on track, the future of Dhuvaafaru will be brighter."

In the meantime Dhonna is thinking of how he will best achieve that dream.

See where the story takes place (requires Google Earth installed): http://www.ifrc.org/docs/news/09/09020901/Dhuvaafaru.kmz

More information: http://www.ifrc.org/tsunami


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Topics

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•  Crises poll 2005

•  Working in Relief

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Emergencies

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Background information

Briefings
Indian Ocean tsunami - [Who works where]

Topics
Climate change Crises poll 2005 Working in Relief
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Maldives

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