NetworkNewsToday: MALDIVES: CLIMATE CHANGE & RISING SEA LEVELS (UNICEF)

NetworkNewsToday: 01 January 2010 - UNICEF: Maldives - Five years on from the tsunami, Maldives continues to face many challenges, made worse by the threat of rising sea levels from climate change. The island of Dhuvaafaru, a community displaced after the tsunami, struggles with a shortage of homes and a lack of space. Completely transformed into a new home for a displaced community the island of Dhuvaafaru. But it is a new life that takes a lot of getting used to for fishermen like Ibrahim Waheed. With nine in the family, their three bedroom house is not big enough, with five children sharing this one room at night. And the cramped kitchen, he tells us, was built for foreigners, not designed for traditional family life here. Purpose-built for hundreds of families and with community and government centres, the islanders still complain of not enough homes and a lack of space. SOUNDBITE (Dhivehi) Ismail Ahmed, Island Councilor, Dhuvaafaru: Since the tsunami, we dreamt of a new home. But the island that we have today is not the one we thought we would get. Five years on from the tsunami, this is a country still facing many challenges, made worse by the threat of rising sea levels from climate change. And in the overcrowded capital of Male, the lack of space doesnt help the growing problem of drug addiction among the young. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Arif, Chair Person, Journey: In Male if you want drugs, you just make a phone call and it will be at your doorstep within two to three minutes. Partnering with UNICEF, the NGO Journey, is a pioneer in tackling the growing drugs problem, with fears that rising cannabis use is leading to more heroin addiction. SOUNDBITE (English) Chair Person, Journey: The majority of them, at least 80-percent of them, somehow, will substitute and go to heroin. Often seen as a desert island paradise, but in reality facing all the problems of the world, from drug abuse to climate change, as much of a challenge as recovery from the tsunami itself. ........................................................................................................................................................................ ( UNITED NATIONS CHILDRENS FUND: UNICEF TELEVISION ) ........................................................................................................................................................................NetworkNewsToday: SEE: http://www.NetworkNewsToday.net WORLD NEWS FROM GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES by Internationally Accredited News Journalists. ........................................................................................................................................................................