Dylan Bettencourt
Zandile Ndhlovu is changing the spectrum in the diving world as the first black free-diving instructor and founder of the Black Mermaid Foundation.
Free diving is the act of holding your breath and exploring the ocean without an oxygen tank. Ndhlovu is making waves by changing the way children view mermaids.
“I identify very much with the idea of ‘Black Mermaid’ in the physical sense,” Ndhlovu said.
“Growing up, there were no mermaids that looked like me. Who would have thought that I would officially become one?”
Ndhlovu lives in Sodwana Bay, known as one of South Africa’s best diving sites. The oceans are vibrantly colourful with many different types of coral and fish species including bottlenose dolphins, manta rays and sharks.
“I remember when I first dived I closed my eyes and listened to the beautiful sounds of whales. When I got to the bottom, I looked around and wondered, where are they?”
She said listening to the songs of whales is wild. You have no breath but you have eternity. You have infinity.”
Ndhlovu strives to change the narrative of who uses the ocean. She said for a long time black South Africans had no access to the beaches. She encourages more black people to feel comfortable with the water.
The Black Mermaid said after all the years diving in Sodwana, she is only now encountering environmental changes such as coral dying as well as seeing plastic pollution.
She works with several different schools to raise awareness about the ocean and how to better protect it. She also educates children on different career paths that involve the ocean such as marine biology and nature conservation.
“I want the little people to believe that these oceans are theirs as well because they are the ones who are going to protect them when we’re gone,” she said.
Image source: @CNN
