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Where we do it > Maldives - 5 Minutes with Country Director, Shiva Aryal
Many people think of the Maldives as an island paradise. But can you describe the kinds of challenges the country is facing?
The Maldives faces a number of challenges to its development. Quality of education is an important one. Although literacy is 99% and everyone has access to basic education there is great disparity in access to quality education between the capital island Male’ and the less-developed islands. Up to 33% of Maldivian teachers are untrained.
In addition to the poor quality of education, Maldives also face challenges around the economy and climate change. The economy is very small, and because of the dependence on tourism it’s also very narrow and vulnerable. Maldives is still recovering from the damage caused by the Asian Tsunami in 2004, and because Maldivian islands are low-lying they’re vulnerable to the rising sea levels caused by global warming.
What work is VSO doing in the Maldives?
VSO has been working in the Maldives since 1981. Volunteers are helping to improve the quality of education for children on the islands. They’re doing this by sharing their teaching expertise with local teachers, encouraging them to use more open, child-friendly methods. Volunteers are also building the capacity of head teachers and school supervisors, who support teachers’ professional development. Other work includes curriculum development, addressing problems faced by children with special educational needs and advocating for better salaries and working conditions for teachers through our ‘Valuing Teachers’ project.
What has been VSO's greatest achievement in the Maldives?
VSO has had a big impact on healthcare. The Faculty of Health Science is now able to independently train adequate numbers of basic health personnel, so the basic and primary health needs of the country are being met. As a result, after 23 years’ support to the health sector of Maldives we’re now able to close our health programme here.
Similarly, the Faculty of Education is now able to train teachers independently. Our contribution to the education sector of Maldives is highly valued by both the local people and the government. The Ministry of Education also appreciated the work we did to support 41 Tsunami affected schools in setting up libraries with books, audio-visual equipment and other facilities.
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