Maafushi (Kaafu Atoll)

Maafushi (Dhivehi: މާފުށި) is one of the inhabited islands of Kaafu Atoll and the proposed capital for the Medhu Uthuru Province of the Maldives. It is noted for the Maafushi Prison.

It was heavily damaged in the 2004 tsunami which impacted on over 100,000 of the Maldives 300,000 population. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, supported by the Irish and American Red Cross Societies, began work on a mains sewage system on August 10, 2006. The International Federation has also funded the building of homes for those who lost theirs during the tsunami. Both schemes are carried out in partnership with commercial contractors and with the support and involvement of the local community.

Economy

Maafushi is one of the islands in Maldives with a thriving local economy. While more than sixty families benefit directly from fishing, tourism industry has taken a new turn since 2010. With the government regulation allowing opening of Guest Houses in local islands, Maafushi was the first to secure an investment in tourism accommodation. The first guest house was opened in January 2010, and since then, many more have opened and they have provided the local community with foreign currency inflows. Tourists from neighboring resort islands also visit Maafushi for island hopping and Maafushi provides them with shopping opportunity with souvenir shops at assigned areas of the island.

Kaafu Atoll

Kaafu Atoll (also known as Malé Atholhu) is an administrative division of the Maldives. It consists of Kaashidhoo Island, Gahaafaru Atoll, and Malé Atoll (which includes the North Malé Atoll and the South Malé Atoll). It also has a number of uninhabited islands. Its capital is Thulusdhoo.

Malé, capital of the Maldives is naturally located within the North Malé Atoll, but it is not part of the Kaafu administrative division.

NOTE: Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Shaviyani, Noonu, Raa, Baa, Kaafu, etc. are code letters assigned to the present administrative divisions of the Maldives. They are not the proper names of the natural atolls that make up these divisions. Some atolls are divided into two administrative divisions while other divisions are made up of two or more natural atolls. The order followed by the code letters is from North to South, beginning with the first letters of the Thaana alphabet used in Dhivehi. These code letters are not accurate from the geographical and cultural point of view. However, they have become popular among tourists and foreigners in the Maldives who find them easier to pronounce than the true atoll names in Dhivehi, (save a few exceptions, like Ari Atoll).