Thuderstorms, smoking education and another picnic day

Thundery skies

There's been a couple of storms come through the last two days. Torrential downpours, lightening and grey milky puddles that cover large sections of the streets for days.

I was woken several times during the night. You know when you're half asleep and your mind plays all sorts of games. Well I was imagining the island was being swamped by the sheer volume of rain bucketing down from the sky and I was going to be left swimming for days (moya!)

Getting ready to leave

We were supposed to be heading off on a picnic today. But based on my crazy dreams and the dark threatening clouds, I had serious doubts if it would go ahead. It did though. 25 people and a whole raft of food were loaded onto a dhoni and we headed out to Vavvaru Island.

The main reason for the picnic was to teach a bunch of the young guys on the island about the dangers and downfalls of smoking. Naifaru Juvenile runs a number of smoking and drug education programmes. They believe it is better to get the kids out on a picnic for a day, play a bunch of games, have some fun and run the education talks outside, rather than having them sit in a classroom for hours.

At Vavvaru, everything was ferried to shore on the boys heads! Within a few moments, we were sitting down to a traditional Maldivian breakfast of potato curry with tuna and rotti. The ladies are amazing verimeehaa kakkaa (master chefs) and pulled out enough food to feed armies of people!

Naasha feeding the troups

(I am really starting to get used to all the curries and so enjoying them! Blog post on food to come...)

Naoko

The education talks started (in dhevehi) so Tess, Cara and I went for our first swim of the day. We ended up playing games in the water for over an hour with Naoko, the 6 year old son of Natto (one of guys who started up Juvenile). Man that boy can talk! He speaks fantastic, clear English and (like any kid) has a gift of wrapping us around his finger and getting us to do whatever he asks.

Tess playing catch with Naoko

A wander round the island, a chat with Natto and then it was time for a treasure hunt.  We joined in this time, even though the clues were in dhevehi. I had such a fun time running around the island, following clues to sites where ghosts were sighted and smoke signals were made and looking for the next marker as the boys translated the clues for me. Our prize was a box of rolled chocolate wafers and the dubious honour of doing a role-play drama, acting out how easy it can be to get into smoking.

Treasure hunt prize

Dodgeball!

Lunch came and went, and then a game of dodgeball on the beach started up. Such a good way to shake down lunch! Another torrential downpour did nothing to dampen the competitiveness and liveliness of the game, it simply kept us all cooler.

Dodgeball!!

Tess and I headed out snorkelling while another lecture was on. So exciting, the marine life is so abundant around the coral reefs - I love it! Out on the dropoff, we saw a massive Napoleon Wrasse, huge schools of unicorn and surgeon fish and hundreds of tiny yellow fish that chased the bubbles from our fins. 

Hanging out for an avo swim

Back on dry land, we joined in some more silly competitions and games. Who could maintain eye contact the longest, dancing while maintaining eye contact (not as easy as you might imagine!) and showing off who had the best dance moves (learning to dance is something else I have to do before I leave!)

The team who organised the day (Natto crouched at front)

A second lunch followed and then it was time to pack up and leave. Just like when we arrived, everything had to be ferried out to the boat on our heads. Fine if you're tall, a little harder for the rest of us. Especially since the wind and waves had picked up and the boat was anchored out deeper...

I was completely soaked through and weary after an action-packed day in the sun (and rain), yet I felt fantastic. I had met some more people, got to know others a little better, learnt a few new words and survived several downpours without melting. 

It was a really cool day. I saw people who cared enough for the future of their young people to get out and do something positive with them. I saw most young people enthusiastically getting involved in all the lectures, activities and games. I saw people helping each other out, often without having to be asked. And I saw a willingness to quickly extend the circle of friends to include relative strangers. 

I may not have not have learned about the dangers of smoking today, but I learned plenty other lessons to carry on in my life.

Deciphering treasure hunting clues

 

Lining up for food!