Gadhdoo 9th-10th July

Gadhdoo 9th-10th July

On the 9th and 10th July we headed to Gadhdoo for a few more sessions. Nothing could prepare us for what was awaiting on the Jetty! But lets take a few steps back...

We had a huge rush to the ferry in the morning which was packed, only 6 spaces left dotted all over the boat (another launch boat). It was very rough and at our first stop, the airport, nobody got off, more got on! It was very cramped and stiflingly hot when there was no breeze from the boat moving!

Thankfully at the second stop lots of people got off and we were all able to sit at the back to lessen the blow of the jumps and bumps the boat was doing. The 3rd stop was a resort island and a man got on. He asked us where we were going and said that there were lots of people waiting for us when we arrive! I don’t think anything he said could have prepared us for what awaited our arrival. The island has a population of just over 1000 people and there must have been at least 300-400 people lining the jetty. Guides and Yls, but also people who had dressed up in national dress, dressed up their children too and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts!

We were given a cold towel, then further down the line we were given a feyli (this act means we are now part of the island), a coconut in a hand made basket, a handmade shell necklace, a handmade hat, finally collected the towel back. We had a huge line of people to shake hands with. There was an official photographer to capture the moments and even a drone wizzing around us. It was like we were celebrities! Once we had all got down the line, there was a stage beautifully decorated for photos, then men with feylis and red scarves on created a procession to walk us to the school where we were given more gifts from the Boy Scouts of birds made from coconut leaves.We shared some short eats and more photos in the old school then were given some free time in our apartment where we re-planned some of our sessions and reflected on the amazing welcome we had received.

The session with the Guides was amazing, we had 18 girls in total (there are 22 Guides on the whole island) in a room of perfect size for them which made it really easy to get to know the girls and work with them closely. We changed the activities and the girls really got involved and we got a lot out of the session too! Lots of games, lots of singing but also working on decision making. We started with 2 truths and a lie where the Guides had to quickly make a decision on two statements about themselves that were true and one what was a lie and we had to guess which was the lie. The girls who went first found it difficult to choose statements to say whereas the girls who went last within the group had more time to think of their statements. We then played out a scenario where the world was ending and there was a nuclear bunker that could save 5 people, there were 10 to choose from, 5 females and 5 males and all we knew was their sex, age and job. The girls had to choose 5 people and give their reasons why. We then gave them more information about the people and asked if they changed their top 5, it was interesting to see how the girls made their decisions and we discussed the importance of knowing all the details before making such important decisions. We ended with the activity of the farmer and the chicken, a farmer has to get his chicken, grain and cat across a river but can only take one at a time. He can’t leave the cat with the chicken as the cat would eat the chicken, and couldn’t leave the chicken with the grain as the chicken would eat the grain. The girls had to work together to find the solution and I’m pleased to say they all did manage to get the items across the river without any being eaten! We ended the night on a high and all went to bed feeling like we had really made a difference to these Guides!

The next morning we were ready to go for the day ahead, a hearty breakfast with bread and jam followed by a Little Maids session where we did the ‘This is me’ activity. The girls loved cutting out their hand shapes and using the different coloured felt pens to write all the things they love about themselves on their hands. We put them into a fish head on the wall and left them there for the girls to look back at again. It was such a rewarding session!

We then were rushed back to get changed into our swim gear and drop off our little maids resource bag, then off for juice break of passion fruit. We boarded a boat and headed off somewhere unknown. A surprise they kept telling us! On the way we saw manta rays in the sea and a turtle coming up for breath. When we arrived, nothing could prepare us for what we saw! The beauty was just stunning! Think of honeymoon brochure photos: white sand beaches, palm trees bending over towards the sea of stunning colours of blue and turquoise. No rubbish lined beaches in sight. We saw a few pieces of rubbish during our time on the island but picked them up and bought them back to put in the bin - doing our bit to ‘keep the scene clean!’

The scouts had been at the uninhabited island the night before to prepare for our coming. A welcome sign, a bridge, a bench, a huge table and a swing all made from pioneering! Men gutting fresh fish they had caught that morning for lunch and men in feylis beating drums with a large speaker playing traditional music for us! We arrived off the boat and were gifted parrots made from palm tree leaves. Photos on the swing and then into our Leaders session. We had 5 of the 12 leaders with us, sat on the beach talking about why we are leaders, what makes a good leader and how we can’t all have the qualities needed but a mixed team makes up for that, then the sweet game to show that even manufacturers make mixed bags of sweets to appeal to the wider market! We had a go at playing teapot tag and cat and mouse, we weren’t sure how it would work with small numbers but we managed to rope the scouts in to helping us in the games. We had a lot of fun and giggled a lot! It was then time for lunch! Our lunch was all made and cooked on the island. The most amazing fresh fish and lobster caught that morning! We were truly spoilt!

As soon as the Scouts were finished with their lunch, we walked across the sea bed to the next island to find a bit of deeper water, a lagoon, to swim in. We saw sea cucumbers, a baby shark (of course everyone started singing baby shark!), and lots of fish! The Scouts all had knives to keep us safe in case any wild animal tried to attack us! They were our escorts. It was lovely to see Guiding and Scouting working in harmony. After a few minutes of swimming in the lagoon we walked further to a spot surrounded by coconuts. One of the scouts was opening a fury coconut, we tasted the milk from it and then got to eat the fresh coconut, it’s so much better than the stuff we get back home!

We headed back and the scouts started to pack away the camp, we piled onto the boat and headed back to Gadhdoo. When we were in Gadhdoo, we put on life jackets and got onto a rickety little sailing boat that also had oars and we rowed across to Gun Island. Gun island used to house a British army base on it, since the Maldives gained independence, it has remained an uninhabited island but is still used every day for farming. A snorkelling instructor met us at the beach and we all piled back onto the original boat to get set up for some snorkelling! We saw some lovely shoals of fish, a sea turtle, an angel fish, some clown fishes cleaning themselves in an aenenomy. It was an amazing experience.

We then went onto Gun island itself where we were treated to some handmade crowns, another escort from people in traditional dress and then a dance. The island was decorated so beautifully, gorgeous red flowers everywhere and another pioneered table from coconut trees! The people here are so handy and really do use every bit of the coconut tree in their daily lives! The women dressed in their feylis and red hijabs performed a traditional dance with sticks, a bit similar to Morris dancing. A few women sung the song which was amazing, the harmonies and the way they use their voice to sing is so special. We were then invited to have a go at dancing before it was time to get back on the boat! When we arrived on the Jetty, we were given invitations to a Maldivian night that evening. We headed back to shower and change and wear our new feylis   too.

The Maldivian night had been put on especially for us at the new school on the island. The drone was out again as was the official photographer. A number of huts had been built housing traditional Maldivian crafts, we were taken around and shown the historical practises such as using the coconut, weaving, black smiths making tools, lace making for the stunning traditional dresses, traditional teaching and much more. Two tables were laid out for us and lines of chairs behind for locals to join us. There were so many people at the event they ran out of chairs and people had to bring their own! Before we ate, Alyson was asked to make a speech about the work that GOLD does and how important the partnership is between the MGGA and Girlguiding UK. She also took the time to thank the people of Gadhdoo for everything they had done for us. Whilst we ate, the Littlemaids, Guides and Boy Scouts performed traditional dances for us, the final one was the stick dance from earlier on Gun Island and we were asked to join in! It was amazing to be a part of their traditions. The evening ended when we were presented with woven pieces of art and the school principal (also a Guiding leader) thanked everyone who had helped to put the night together.

We went to bed feeling so privilaged to have had the experiences today and amazed at the traditions we witnessed.

To the people of Gadhdoo, Shukuriyyaa.