The Path Less Travelled: Aishath Rizuna
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
In the first of Travel Daily’s latest series, we talk to people with unique and interesting jobs in the travel industry.
Today, we chat with Aishath Rizuna, who recently became the Maldives’ first female boat captain at the Kurumba resort.
Congratulations, you have become the first female boat captain in the Maldives! How does that make you feel?
Thank you very much. Being the first female boat captain I feel very proud of myself for having the courage to do something like this. I never thought I’ll get so much recognition for this and I appreciate every one’s support, especially Kurumba Maldives.
Your career at the Kurumba resort began as a kids’ club attendant, so this is quite a change. How did the opportunity arise?
Yes, I started in Kurumba as a kids’ club attendant but I’m always very keen on water-related activities. Since the kids’ club is under recreation department and after I was promoted as the supervisor in recreation, the door for all the water activities opened. The fleet manager (Mohamed Shameem) convinced me to do this, and I’m glad I took his advice.
What training did you have to undertake before you became a captain?
I took the opportunity of the cross training and I had to learn the laws and regulation of maritime in Maldives, navigations and getting to know all the features of the boats and practical and theoretical lessons. It was challenging yet very interesting.
Have the other male captains at the resort supported you in the role?
Yes, I couldn’t have done this without the help of the male captains in Kurumba. They helped and guided me throughout the training. I feel very grateful to the fleet department of Kurumba Maldives who supported me throughout all the stages throughout this process.
Do you think you can now inspire more Maldivian women to become boat captains?
I really hope that other young women of Maldives will be inspired by me to follow into achieving their goals and believe anything is possible and wish to see more women in the maritime tourism industry. Lastly I would like to thank all the members of our Kurumba Maldives team for being with me throughout course, especially the management for providing this wonderful opportunity.
Comments are closed.