The first-ever Principal of the Center for Higher Education (CHSE), Dr. Ibrahim Abdul Malik, flew back to the United States after spending six years in the Maldives.
He flew back home with the hope of revisiting the Maldives to celebrate his 100th birthday.
Despite his old age, Dr. Malik appeared to be in better physical condition than most people his age and walked on his own.
However, his health deteriorated in 2020 after contracting Covid-19, and passed away on April 1 of the same year at the age of 96.
Prior to his demise, Dr. Malik had wished that his only surviving daughter would accompany him to the Maldives to commemorate a century on earth, but she too passed away a year later at the age of 66 from a stroke.
Dr. Malik's only surviving granddaughter Krista Ambats has visited the Maldives last week, to fulfill her late grandfather's wish.
She is expected to fly home on Tuesday, December 26, after commemorating the late Dr. Malik's birthday.
Krista, 33, said that though Dr. Malik returned home after spending his time in the Maldives, his love for the island nation did not vanish. He continued to speak highly of the Maldivian hospitality and the friendliness of the locals, Dr. Malik's granddaughter who recently shifted to Germany said.
"He was my best friend. My mentor in everything. Since I am his only granddaughter, we shared a very deep and strong bond. The love for languages, traveling, being open-minded, and being courageous are all of the things I learned from my grandfather. I love him more than anyone," Krista said.
Dr. Malik had two children. His only son had passed away nearly five years back, and neither was married nor survived by any children at the time of his demise.
As such, Krista is now the last surviving member of Dr. Malik's family.
"I decided that even if I had make the trip alone, I would come to witness the love my grandfather had for CHSE and the Maldives. I decided to see the school he built and the country he loved with my own eyes," Krista added.
Since Dr. Malik and his daughter (Krista's mother) had passed away, Krista sought anyone in the Maldives who would have been acquainted with her late grandfather. While checking through her emails, she stumbled across one of the emails sent by her grandfather that had an attachment of a Mihaaru News news article featuring Dr. Malik. The former CHSE principal had CCed the email to several others besides Krista.
She began writing to the other recipients in that email thread individually, specifying her requests.
She was in luck when Mashood Imad, the former Media Secretary of the President's Office, who had extended hospitality to the late Dr. Malik in his last visit to the Maldives, replied to her email.
After arriving in the Maldives, Krista had visited both the old and new CHSE buildings and met with some of Dr. Malik's colleagues and former students.
"I knew he was the principal of SES, but what I did not know was the impact on the students my grandfather had. The first batch of students has since grown up to become educators, doctors, and even politicians. When I spoke with my grandfather's former students, I realized the transformative progress in the Maldivian livelihood. I have met the principals teaching the new generations and learned about the growth of the academic sector," Krista said.
She highlighted that all of her late grandfather's former students recalled Dr. Malik as a calm, down-to-earth yet witty principal who always encouraged his students. Krista said learning about what kind of a man her grandfather was, had been heartwarming.
"I had depended on my grandfather for a lot of things. But today, I am content knowing the lessons he imparted to me when he was alive."
Krista recalled Dr. Malik's last visit to the Maldives, after which he flew back home and spoke of the country's transformation over the years. Despite the notable changes in the Maldives, Dr. Malik claimed that the one thing that remained the same was the friendliness and hospitality of the Maldives, reminisced Krista.
"He would talk about the Maldives every now and then. He would say how he left a part of him when he came back home, that is why he was able to maintain such a strong relation with his former students even after all those years," she added.
The late Dr. Malik, recipient of two PhDs, led a very active life until his final days. He regularly exercised and ate healthily.
One of the fondest memories of her grandfather was how the two went to get ice cream whenever Krista had cravings. She said it was a secret between just the two of them.
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