Anantara Artist Aid: A sustainable aid programme

By Ali Naafiz

MALE, November 17 (HNS) – Kids from the Children’s House orphanage in Villingili were painting enthusiastically at the art studio in Anantara Maldives Dhigu Island Resort and Spa. A kid painting a picture of a coral shook his head when I asked whether he painted before. The 10 kids who took part in the first round of the “Anantara Artist Aid” programme on Saturday had a whole new experience by painting according to the instructions of a professional artist.

“Everybody, anybody can be an artist… There is an artist in everyone of us, but at different levels. In order to get that artist self of yours out, you need to be aware of your surroundings,” Christopher Hogan, the in-resident artist and visual communicator at Anantara Maldives told Haveeru after the session.

Here is the rest of the article @ Haveeru.

Shangri-la ignoring Addu

Villingili Shangrilla

There is news coming from Addu that Shangri-la is ignoring Addu when it comes to recruitment and that they are considering petitioning the management of Shangri-la to reconsider the position. Historically the people of Addu worked hard to let the island of Villingili be build as a resort calling upon, cajoling, taunting and even threatening the government since perhaps the first days of tourism in Maldives. Addu is the second most populous atoll in Maldives and the biggest pool of resort related talent can be found in Addu. With the exception of perhaps a handful of resorts, all resorts in Maldives will have a majority of staff from Addu and the prospect of returning to Addu and getting a job closer to home (in Shangri-la or Herethere) is a dream of almost all of them.

Most big hotel and resort chains have good corporate social responsibility policies designed to help alleviate friction arising from issues just like this and Shangri-la is no exception. However the situation in Shangri-la in Addu is quite opposite from what is preached about Shangri-la CSR policies. It maybe an HR oversight to let unskilled workers be hired from contractors who sent expatriate workers to the resort on a case by case basis whilst the same category of workers can be recruited from Addu which would go a long way to help the cash, employment (or for that matter everything) strapped community of Addu.