After two weeks staging from Landaa, the group headed out to a small guest house on Fuladhoo. It was from there that we broke up into our groups and divided among five islands – Thulhaadhoo, Fuladhoo, Hithaadhoo, Goidhoo and Fehendhoo. Jessica, Shah and myself were assigned the second largest island, Hithaadhoo. We worked closely with two community health workers Shazna and Shahmela, as well as the Island Council, students and children. I would say that I struggled a bit in adjusting to the island environment – each is unique in the obstacles that a project like this faces. However, I could not be more proud of the work that our team got done. We finished a full survey of the island, filled thirteen jumbo-recycling bags, gained a surprising amount of community support, and received six cans full of breadfruit chips (my favorite!). I met a great group of young girls, who continued to impress me with their willingness to come out to survey (rain or shine), climb up on tanks and boats, and overall enthusiasm to look for bugs with a total stranger. It was truly an incredible two weeks, and am excited to wrap up my time here with Kamadhoo and Kihaadhoo!
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