non nye resolution

I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions because they often fail. After about a month, we forget what we said we’d do. Plus, 2016 is going to be pretty hard to live up to. I rang it in with my sweetheart in South Africa and turned 40 there. We witnessed many wild animals in their own habitat: dolphins, elephant, giraffe, hippo, birds and birds, rhino, monkeys and monkeys, crocodile, and the echo of lions (firing up the monkeys).

We hiked, we dined on the finest, sampled wines from the vineyard, swam with penguins.

And now I’m wrapping the year after 5 months living and working in Maldives. The sky presents magnificent cloud and sunset paintings each night, I’ve been in the sea with my shiny new diving certificate and have swam with manta and so many vibrant fish and coral variety I’ve lost count,

I’ve visited many islands and marveled at unparalleled Maldivian hospitality and friendship that has been bestowed here. I’ve finally fulfilled a dream to work for the UN.

So, as I embark upon 2016, I dare not make a resolution, because I am not sure how I could possibly continue my learning and luck at this pace. I will be more than happy to find my way back to familiar comforting arms, to find gainful employment that utilizes my assets and serves the greater good, to keep learning, to be healthy and take pride in my temple, to be grateful for friendships and loved ones, not just in words but in actions. That’s a lot, but that’s how one should live all year long.

photo: Ali Shujau

Laamu, Women, Climate and my Light bulb

I’ve just spent a working week in Laamu atoll on an exciting field assignment, outside of my regular duties. I was officially released from my office to provide photographic support for a UNWomen project that is being developed on women and climate change- how they are adapting and innovating.

Women here face challenges dealing with refuse, and getting fresh water, not just for consumption during draught times, but for agriculture.  Women play a strong role in that sector and often contribute to the household income this way. Their crops have been affected by climactic changes in rain patterns, erosion and reliable freshwater sources. 

I visited many little farms. Cucumber, chili’s, pomegranate and passionate fruit fetch higher prices at the market. Potatoes, banana, pumpkin and papaya are good staples that grow well in Laamu. And naturally I got fed everywhere I went!

 

My time here crossed over with the 2^nd Annual Laamu Climate Change Forum, with a focus this year on Green Growth, which is very timely at the recent conclusion of the global agreements that were drawn in Paris. The forum brought together multi-sector stakeholders to discuss how far Laamu has come in the last year, where communities are headed, and plan to head, with innovation and development around Low Emission pathways forward. It was incredibly rich and inspiring.

I had the privilege of attending a small lunch put on by the UN Resident Coordinator to host women representatives from the Women’s Development Committee, including their President, Naseera, whom I’ve befriended and will be watching her budding political career, even from afar. This luncheon gave them the chance to directly inform the UN what their challenges and successes are, and these insights will be brought forward to better inform future UN programming here. In addition to other inequities, women are grossly underrepresented in the political sphere, and Naseera is considering running for Island Council President next year. Though many island councils have female members, leadership is lacking. Women make up only 5% of 942 island Councilors countrywide.

On a personal level, I’m experiencing a kind of monumental shift, the kind I felt after I came back from Tajikistan back in 2004. Tajikistan steered me toward the development sector. And now Maldives is steering me back to my camera.  I left the pursuit of photography for a living a while ago, and somehow it continues to find its way back to me. Every job I’ve had since I’ve started a new career ends up putting a camera back in my hand. And here I am in Maldives, shooting for the UN’s advocacy efforts, for donor transparency- but really at its heart, I am storytelling. And this is where I am most comfortable in my own skin!  This is when I get lit on fire, when I’m connecting with people through the camera. (When I'm empowered as a woman traversing a male dominated profession!) The high I get from making a good image eliminates the idea that I am working. Actually, I feel like I’m getting away with something, because is one really supposed to enjoy working this much?  

The light bulb is coming on, it was always glowing a little, but now its fully illuminating the path. This is what I need to be doing, I have finally found my niche, this is how I best serve my global community, how I give, how I feel useful. 

I’m rusty, my gear is antiquated, but I think its time to officially get back on the horse. Isn’t it?

**Note: Top tier photos are being held back for UN's first usage- these are discards, but give you the idea. 

island of Huraa

In recent years Maldives has opened itself up to another brand of tourism in addition to the exclusivity of its high-end resorts. Guesthouses are popping up on the inhabited islands, which were always kept quite separate from tourist areas. This may be a bit of a boost for the local economy. And great for the budget tourist, and the tourist who wants to see what life is like in the real Maldives.

 

Huraa is a wonderful little island, with around 1000 inhabitants. One can catch the daily commuter ferry for less than $2 from the capital. It takes around an hour to get there. Hurra has two little restaurants, a school (and a new one under construction), a great football field (they had a strong island team that folded due to funding, players work on resorts now instead), a nice children’s park with a public stage, a local woodcarver with an open studio to visit, a beautiful mosque, nice beaches and two large resorts just a stone’s throw away. You either fish for a living, or work in tourism.

The island is well loved and maintained, a sense of pride shines through in the tended gardens, the way things are cared for and even the streets of sand are carefully swept each day. The warmth and hospitality of the locals is genuine. I lost count of the ‘good morning’s I received when strolling around.

Our host at East Huraa Inn, the young Hussain, is a rare gem. This is a generous and warm person, who truly made every effort to ensure we had a wonderful stay. This included him and his friends teaching us to crab hunt for a BBQ dinner. And they played music and sang around candle light on the patio into the evening. The island feeling warmed my heart and reminded me how much I value my friends.

island nuts & women in Maldives

Some neighbors were crouched in the trees near the beach where I was sitting, and I could hear them chattering along with a continuous thud.  I didn’t want to bother them, but curiosity got the best of me.

They were cracking open island nuts, one by one, and filling a little jar. When I approached, they were only too kind to offer me some to try.  I had them before, but not fresh from the husk. They had left them to dry out in the sun, so the nut was still warm when it melted in my mouth. They are delicate, tender and mild like pine nuts—laborious to get to, and so delicious.

The nuts are gathered from trees, and dried out in the sun to make them easier to crack. They are brown and fibrous on the outside, similar in texture to a brown fuzzy coconut. To get at the nut, it is set on its side first and hammered until it’s moderately dented. It is then tipped with the pointy end up, and hit only once on the top to crack it open. Inside rests a single tender nut.

I look forward to a project I will support in the coming weeks for UNWomen. Women play a significant role in adapting to climate change through unique agricultural practices and innovation around water and food security.  More to come...

warm like bathwater

"- If diving in salt water, rinse stings with salt water, not fresh. Don't rub stings, it makes them worse.
- Use vinegar on jellyfish, fire coral and other hydroid stings.
- Remove spines from punctures with forceps if you can do so without breaking them.
- Treat bites like any wound by controlling bleeding and bandaging."

 I spent a luxurious lazy afternoon in our front yard, studying my dive book, testing out an underwater camera, and falling asleep in the breeze on my wet towel.

Sometimes I cannot believe where I am, or how I got here. The work days are long with the commute, but the moments of reflection and quiet I can gather for myself in stolen moments on weekends are a kind of rare gift in life I shall likely not encounter again.

 There are days when my anxiety rises, not knowing what is next, where I'll live, if I'll have a meaningful job to feel proud of. It's like floating in a lucid dream, reality constantly in the peripheral.

A reality reminding me that I have one chance at this life, and without risk, there is no discovery, no growth, no failure.


"Most new divers want to know what they should do if they see a shark. You should watch it and enjoy the experience. You don't see them often. Remain still and calm on or near the bottom, and don't swim toward it, doing so may cause defensive behaviour."

a portrait of Pushpa

Pushpa greeted me when I arrived at my guesthouse in Kandy. I rented the entire home that sleeps 8 for around $40 per night. The owners live in Australia, so Pushpa is employed to look after the home and assist Airbnb guests. She is happy to do the shopping at a local market and come by to prepare meals for a very modest fee.

For some reason we bonded very quickly, and I feel I have found a kindred spirit. When she learned of my love for cooking different cuisines, she welcomed me into the simplest of kitchens to watch and learn. The food resembles south Indian in style, but she taught me some techniques and twists on food combination and preparation which make it distinctly Sri Lankan. I was impressed that she roasts and grinds and concocts her own spice combinations-- rich and glorious and heady. Some is coming home with me as a gift from her. Our first seven-dish feast was topped off with watching her favorite Bolly-soap opera together, sated and reclining, her hands tucked into the top of her sarong like Al Bundy. She was really into this show and gave me the play by play.

There were some potato sacks strewn out to help us
navigate the burning concrete with our bare feet.

 Getting to know her this week has provided me with a deeper insight into Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan life, particularly for women, and even more so for single women like her having raised a child on her own. She opened her heart and spirit and shared her life trials and joys in caring for others. 

She asked to join me on some of my outings which was a real joy.
I was touched by her openness to teach me some aspects of Hindu religion.  I know that trees are sacred and integral to Hindu religion (usually banyan and neem trees) but I was truly inspired by Pushpa's explanation of what she gains from her interaction with the special trees. Here she is telling the tree of her woes, the woes are poured out from a small vessel of sacred water she is holding. That water is absorbed into the roots, and the tree will offer her wisdom, protection and healing by processing this prayer-filled water for her up and out through the leaves. Though limited in our ability to communicate, this message was very clear to me.

Pushpa made me laugh, as she reminded me of my mom... a lady came by our tuk-tuk selling special lotto tickets like a 50/50. She does not miss a chance to buy one!

Pushpa was pleased to join me on a visit to an elephant rescue.
She had never been before and was equally as excited and in awe as I was.

 

Pushpa took my portrait with our driver, Nimal. Nimal came highly recommended from my house owner, and for good reason. He is gentle, kind and very knowledgeable about the area.  He also charges much less than the going rate in these parts. He and Pushpa have come to know each other quite well over the years, likely due to exchanges with guests like me. I only call on him now.

Pushpa has truly shaped and informed a most unique little vignette of time I have had here in Sri Lanka... a place that has recently come through a lot of struggle, a place with deep and fascinating history... a place filled with interesting people and the most lush flora and fauna I have experienced yet.    I am thankful and changed a little.