Opening doors

*knock* *knock* .

The door opens and an elderly couple hesitantly walks in... you know the name, you know the age, you know the address... because that's the information shown on your computer screen... you knew that before having called them in for the consultation... .

You have a closer look at them... theirs are faces lined with anxiety... you try to put them at ease, and go ahead with business as usual... .

But, do you see beyond the anxiety? do you notice the faint laugh lines at the corners of their eyes? Do you know their story? .

You and I know that there are more doors to be opened... like the one shown in this picture.. Their's is a door that I've walked through a thousand times and more... walk in with me, won't you? .

Their's is a home full of light and air... potted plants and colourful flowers... butterflies dancing in sunshine... a home, filled with the sounds of ping pong balls bouncing off the TT table, or the rackets or the walls (or someone's head)... sounds of laughter... the din of people of all ages engaged in animated discussions.. or the sounds of everyone going about their daily routines... students recording radio dramas... or deciphering the means of poems... I was one of them...

The doors are always open... the house is always full, the extended family, neighbors, colleagues and students all swarming around.. always welcomed... always loved... .

Their home is built  on the foundations of love and mutual respect... if i am to choose a perfect love story, it would be theirs... they are a team... 

They met during the good old days of rely bicycles and bell bottomed pants... the times of lime stone walls... the times when the girl would stand at the doorway. A rose tucked in behind one ear, and she's wearing a coy smile.. The boy would appear by the side, super cool, on a bicycle; one hand on the handle and the other swung Cooly over the wall... when you try to make that smooth stop, sometimes your arm gets bruised, (especially when you're bicycle paddles are a little lower than it should be!) *ouch* but you try your best to keep that smile on, never flinch... and wait to tend to your bleeding elbow in the privacy of your room...thus would be the courtship.. .

                                                              He wrote "aakujekey" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSI4KZ1Po0g

when they met. a song our generation grew up listening to; immortalized by one of our music legends. A story beautifully written by them, forever engraved in the hearts of their loved ones. 

But, when you sit across from them, in that seat of yours, do you see the love? do see how they've lived their life? No... All you see is a diminished light... a tiny hint of their story, but never the whole story... 

It happens so gradually that one doesn't notice, until one day, the door opens, and the realization hits us. We see that the light has receded slowly... we see that the shadows have crept in... and we are left wishing, if only for a moment, we can stop the sands of time from spilling... We wish that we hadn't been so busy growing up, that we didn't notice that they were growing old. 

We wish we could turn a wheel and go back to those childhood days, when it was all sunshine and light... we wish that we could freeze those moments in a loop; because, we realize that those moments are gone forever. and that those were the moments that had made us who we are... 

Our parents and their friends walk a bit hesitantly now... We wish they would walk again with confidence and dignity, full of zeal, in the best of health... not uncertain... and scared... We wish that it was not time yet for the transition... that it wasn't time yet, for us to take the lead... 

A wonderful lady I met

This had been home for 6 months... Here, I met a wonderful lady aged 90+, and she's still living life on her own terms!

She is up with the rising sun, and has the house running... .

At 7:00 am she gets a call everyday; its from the Cancer home run by the Cancer Society of Sri Lanka, in Kandy... The head nurse gives her a status update on the overall condition of patients in the home, and their meals within the last 24 hours... She makes sure, that there are enough supplies.. If there are any inadequacies, she takes it up with the board, and sorts it out... .

Cancer home is run on donor funds, providing meals and accommodation for patients from far off places, who no longer need hospital stay, although they require frequent follow-ups or chemotherapy... Their families who live on daily wages, go about their work, with the assurance that, their loved ones are  well taken care of there... .

She then goes about her work, pushing her walker, tending to her garden. She owns a plant shop and is still an active member of the horticultural society of Kandy, which she had lead for 25 years... They hold weekly meetings here, even now 

She had been born at a time when education for girls had not been a priority, but marriage had been... Her home is full of books, and she, an ardent reader... Here, she welcomes women and girls pursuing their studies (at Peradenjya university, especially foreigners) and makes sure they feel at home!  Lovely lady she is! ️

Precious seconds

#throwback to 220515 to perhaps the first ever spinal tumour removal in a child in #maldives ..

Here we see a team of dedicated Maldivians, working together, with an aim to preserve the lower limb function of a little boy aged 5 years. Every minute matters, the longer the wait, the less chances that he would walk, even if he eventually triumphs over #cancer.. .

The surgery went on for 10 + hours in IGMH... The group tirelessly working, was lead by Dr. Ali Niyaf, along with Dr. Neeza and assisted by Dr. Hammad. Anesthesia HOD, Dr. Rizana, came down to the hospital, although she had not been on-call that night, and did what she did best.. The paediatric team continued with the medical management... Dr. Shimal (Pathologist) and lab team, were there every step of the way, processing urgent pre-op labs, arranging blood and finally doing the histopathological diagnosis.. OT, ICU and Paediatric team of nurses worked round the clock... It happened because the health administrators allowed it. 

That day, It didn't matter that the neurosurgeon was from a private hospital... It didn't matter that the child would eventually need to be referred for chemo... That night, it didn't matter... What was important is, emergency care was being given.. the patient being stabilized... 

Here, was a team dedicated to saving a child's life.. And nothing else mattered... That's what I understand... In spite  of the difficulties, everyone came through and did their bit... 

Giving healthcare is a labour of love; amidst numerous challenges and frustrations that the practitioners face, which is rarely brought forth...

Joalifathi time in an island in Maldives

It was a Friday morning, and the kids were home making butterflies... .

It's amazing just how much we can learn, by spending sometime on a joalifathi where the locals gather... How quickly our people open up and talk about their experiences... On this particular weekend... We met two sets of parents who's children are living with medical conditions (Meningomylocele and Tracheoesophageal Fistula) who had undergone numerous surgeries and made uncountable trips out of their island to male' and abroad for Medical treatments.. 

Hearing their stories, and their perception of medical care at home and abroad was insightful... I strongly feel, that we should all come out the hospitals, and from behind policy desks, and spend sometime on a joalifathi or a holhuashi from time to time and listen... Listen to the people (not patients), we are there to serve... So that we can serve them better by filling the gaps in our #healthsystem #healthpolicy  #WellMV

Faith healers

Beautiful as the surroundings maybe, there's always a dark side...

It's an atoll where a lot of trust is placed in faith healers... Some of the false believes with regard to breastfeeding, weaning and supplementary feeds Ingrained in the society puts the children at risk. At present, Ga. Atoll has the highest numbers of children with stunting and wasting in the country. Faulty development in the earlier years put the children, their families and the community at a disadvantage... 

Point to ponder is, what leads people to seek alternative forms of treatment... fanditha for breast engorgement and earth worm soup for hyperemesis are some forms of therapies that had come up in discussions... 

Specific targeted communication strategies need to be adopted... Health Protection Agency of the Maldives with support from UNICEF Maldives had conducted a breastfeeding counseling workshop and Essential Newborn Care Course training for the healthcare workers of Ga. Atoll in 2014. 

During the time spent there, we were pleased to have worked with young and energetic group of local nurses and community health officers... I hope they are  continuing with their pledge to work closer with the communities to bring about positive changes... 

The solution is motivated healthcare workers from within the community working for the community... Who better can understand the factors affecting their health? The infrastructure and equipments are all there... We need people to take the lead and provide the services with confidence.

Hithadhoo Koattey in time

Koattey literally means a fortress. Unfortunately, there is no trace of a fortress here... I must admit, I was disappointed to be shown an iron rod like thing in the center of a clearing as "koattey" by the youngsters who accompanied us to the site (more disappointed because of the obvious deficiencies in their knowledge on one of the most important historic sites on their beautiful atoll!)...   

Long long ago, during the reign of Kalhu Mohamed Rasgefaanu and Bureki Ranin, Gaafaru Kalhu Unbusheymu (Ibrahim) had built the fortress. Some believe that #PareenHanaFengandu was a man made bath within its grounds. 

Gaafaru Kalhu Unbusheymu had traveled to GDh. Atoll on a royal decree, to investigate rumors of a ship that was sailing through the islands of GDh Atoll, terrorizing the islanders... Tales of people being forced to drink alcohol and looting had the king and queen very concerned. 

view from koattey kolhu

Kaanzee kamana (Princess of Goa) and her husband had stopped over in #Maldives on a journey around the world.. After a long battle, in which sailors from Goa had been killed, Kaanzee kamana was widowed. Unbusheymu had been looking through the ship when he heard a door slam. He found Kaanzee Kamana hiding behind the door and she was taken hostage. 

Unbusheymu had asked her for her hand in marriage. Kaanzee Kama had been pregnant at the time of her husbands demise. She was taken to S. Hithadhoo where Gaafaru Kalhu Unbusheymu built a fortress, where Kaanzee Kamana gave birth to Andhiri Andhirin. 

Andhiri Andhiri had escaped to Goa, and returned to Maldives with assistance of Viyazor and Portuguese, thus began the brutal reign of Portuguese in #Maldives 

The fortress was later used by the British during the Second World War

Fuvahmullah's lagoon and its remnants in Dhadimagu

#Dhadimagu Kulhi is one of the fresh water lakes that exist in #Fuvahmulah; the oblong one island #atoll in #maldives that had formed close to 4000 years back. the outer rims of the island encircled two lagoons (two fresh water lakes Dhadimagi Kilhi and Bandaari Kilhi are remnants of these lagoons) and shallow waters, with an outlet (towards the southern side of the island, at present it’s the area where the garbage dump is) that had acted as a natural habour. 

Over the years, the shallow waters slowly dried, some formed the wetlands, others formed tiny islets (known locally as feeshi). Some residents moved inwards and settled there. The families living on these hamlets were known by the names of the islets (their descendants are known so even today). Ethere (inner) feeshi, Dhigi (long)  feeshi, Mal (flower) feeshi, Ranauraa feeshi and Beyre (outer) feeshi were some of the islets in present day Dhadimagu area. 

Sunrise over Dhadimagu Kulhi

The mouth of the natural harbor closed some 100 years back. According to legend, one fine morning, when the dwellers woke up, the outlet was cut off from the ocean with a pile of rocks (locally known as ‘hathaa’, these are oval shaped flat rocks). 

Under the leadership of then Atoll Chief (Vaaruveriya); Vaaru Ali Didi, the whole community was known to have gathered and worked relentlessly for around a week with no avail. By night fall, if they were able to clear away the rocks, with the rising sun of the next day, the islanders had seen that the rocks were piled up again. It was thought to have been due to a change in the ocean currents. Even today, it is told that the ocean currents are somewhat different, with the waves being known to converge towards the shore. The natural habour was used till 1331 AD. 

Follow the link for more info;

http://www.sun.mv/sunrashah/fuvahmulah/60363