This year, during the independence day holidays I went to A.A. Ukulhas for to spend some time with family. It was a memorable trip, mainly due to the unexpected rough seas that held us for two hours at sea for a trip usually takes half that. Lots of rain and not the perfect sunny side of life holiday the Maldives is famous for. The weather kept us stuck in the island for more than we had planned since the seas just didn’t give us calm to travel back to Male’.
During this time, something unexpected happened. A start of a journey of a different kind. An NGO called Ukulhas Hope contacted me and wanted to meet me. I was pretty sure what they wanted, and I was also sure that will not be something that easy for me to do.
On 30 July 2022, in the pouring rain, in a small island the officials of the NGO came to pick me in a small car and took me to the biggest landmark of the island. A state-of-the-art convention center that has become a famous over the country for the so called Ukulhas Declarations. Many political, social and even sports events have become commonplace in this center now.
Well, my hunch was true. The NGO wanted me to send doctors to the island in weekends for their people to consult. Something, that I am not in a situation to do, although I am the MD of the biggest private hospital in the country. This would be like opening a pandora box, a request that I already have refused for many. Not only that, just a consultation gathering all the people in an island doesn’t help much either for those who should have more benefit from medical care. So for the disappointment of the officials, I had to kindly and tactfully decline.
However, I proposed an idea, and idea that could be way more beneficial to the people. The concept of a healthy city, that can be adapted to the island setting. A setting where people are healthier, everything that revolves around them promote healthy living. A concept I have advocated with many others with not much interest. To my amazement, the officials showed a lot of interest. I could see it in their eyes, from the questions they asked and the enthusiasm they showed.
Well, this put the task rolling. The idea of Ujaala Ukulhas. Now it’s time to make it a reality. The first healthy island in Maldives. A daunting task, yet with the support and participation of the people, they can be empowered to make it happen.
The future awaits …
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