After 5 months of planning, I am finally at Landaa Giraavaru of the Four Seasons in the Maldives! The journey lasted about three days and stepping off the boat and onto the dock here was so surreal. I will be working with 6 other UCSC students, 5 Maldivian volunteers and our team leader Trudy on the Baa Atoll mosquito control project here. We will work in teams with local communities to start as well as maintain current mosquito control projects. With the control of mosquitoes also comes the control of Dengue fever, a disease vectored by mosquitoes here that can affect the lives of every citizen here. It will be a lot of work but I am excited to finally get started!
A HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped me get here whether it be with a donation to the group’s fundraiser, the borrowing of a camera or your words of encouragement. If you know me well you know that this trip is all I’ve talked about the past two months and I thank you for allowing me to hopefully educate you about the Maldives and mosquito control. I look forward to more learning soon and bringing back even more information about this beautiful place and its people. With more to come very soon, Jess.