Beginning of my Journey as a Human Rights Defender (HRD)..!!!

After the semester exam I was thinking about a way to make my vacation a productive one. On 17^th April, my friend Xef sent me a link via facebook. It was an event (Human Right Defenders Training) organized by Maldivian Democracy Network. As it is an area where I have interest, I thought of joining. And with the help of Xef I registered there.

On 22 ^nd April at 9 am I went to SHE building for the 1^st session of HRD training. Xef was the only one I knew. All others were totally new to me. I was thinking of how I am going to bear it from 9 am to 6 pm every day till 28^th April.

Sessions started with around 23 members. At the very first day it was a blast. When the lecturers gave group activity, everyone started to talk and became friends. For every activity there will be a new group. Therefore at the very first day we started to know each other.

During the sessions every participant was allowed to talk and express views regarding the topic. This was one of the best and open discussions in which I have participated so far.  Discussions were so interesting that time was so limited.

Lunch and evening tea was provided to all of us from MDN. We had discussions and fun talks during the lunch and tea break. Taking different issues and talking about it during these breaks, as the discussion time was limited.

At the end of the training all members were evaluated and successful candidates were accredited as Human Rights Defenders. Responsibilities of HRDs (we) include advocating human rights locally on a continuous basis, reporting human rights violation to MDN and other related bodies, guiding and providing information to victims of human rights violation, and assist MDN in conducting their nationwide assessments and activities.

In this training sessions we were trained in the following areas;

 Ø  Philosophy and history of Human Rights

   Ø  Rights enshrined in the 2^nd chapter of the Constitution

   Ø  The democratic system of the Maldives

   Ø  Local legal redress mechanisms

   Ø  Maldivians and human rights (Islam and human rights / Maldivian culture and human rights)

   Ø  International law and international legal redress mechanisms

   Ø  Monitoring and reporting human rights

First year at Villa College

  

       After completing the high school, I had two choices; whether to continue studies or to start working. It was my decision to continue studies. First thing I explored was the quality of education and the course fee or tuition fee of different colleges in Maldives. When I was satisfied these of Villa College, I came to a decision to enroll in this course (Bachelor of Human Resource Management) by Villa College.
 Once I enrolled in this course, I had a lot of expectations towards the college as it is my first year of college. First thing I could think about was the college campus or the environment in which I am going to study. I imagined big class rooms with loads of students. In simple words I look forward to quality education in a sophisticated learning environment.  As being a verbal learner I always wanted lectures to be impressive. Therefore I expected efficient teachers in Villa College.

It’s been an year since I started my education at Villa College with 14 class mates. The environment of the campus is good, but it is small and therefore crowded. Overall things were good yet there were difficulties in few things like slow processing of requests (result notifications, reference letters etc), classes gets cancelled out often, registers are not checked well etc. My first year was good though it did not meet up with each and every expectation of mine.

Happy New Year 2012 !

“Cheers to New Year and another chance for us to get it right.” - Oprah Winfrey

With the beginning of each year, there will be new dreams, possibilities and hopes. Every year teach us some important lessons. Therefore it’s on our hand to learn from it and put our step forward into the New Year.

When I glimpse into 2011, I faced tons of things. This includes positive and negative scenarios as well.

When considering the positive aspects, in 2011 I started my college life. I learned how to live alone without my parents (something important). I have got some awesome new comers into my life yet sticking with me. . . .

When turning to the negative side, it is the worst year of my life. I have been through loads of problems which were difficult to solve. Some people walked away from my life and also few things caused my life to take a totally different turn, which I have never expeected even. . . .

There were so many firsts happened in my life during 2011. But overall, it was not a good year for me. Hence, I am looking forward for a better and successful year ahead. 

Wish you all a very happy New Year 2012. 

There are so many predictions about the year 2012. Let’s see how things turn out!