Meet the ‘Black Mermaid’
AFTER immersing herself in the depths of the ocean while holidaying in Bali in 2016, Zandile Ndhlovu’s life was never the same again.
It was the first time Ndhlovu, 33, had such an encounter, where she “truly connected” with the underwater beauty of an ocean.
She has since become an outspoken advocate of marine conservation and one of her main missions has been to help African people overcome their fears and enjoy the ocean.
Having acquired her scuba diving licence and qualified as a freediving instructor, Ndhlovu wants to share her knowledge, love and appreciation for the ocean by making it more accessible to black people.
She started the Black Mermaid Foundation, which runs programmes that draw children to the sea, where they can see and experience the “wondrous beauty” of life underwater.
Her message that the “diverse representation of the ocean” was the way to go to achieve meaningful ocean conservation has gained much traction, and she has had invitations to speak on the subject at events around the world.
Ndhlovu, who was previously named a torch-bearer for the Professional Association of Divers International for her efforts to connect humanity to oceans, will be a speaker at the 2022 Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit this week.
The two-day summit, which begins on Tuesday, coincides with International Women’s Day and will be held on a virtual platform.
“I’m incredibly honoured and it is a great opportunity to speak about the ocean and create space in the African narrative on how we can exist with the ocean.
“There is a big disconnect in some communities with the ocean, in how we enjoy it,” she said.
Ndhlovu will also share her views on the “power to be present”, where individuals embrace challenges by tackling them head-on. While her affinity for the ocean runs deep, Ndhlovu did not have the privilege of living and growing up near the sea.
She grew up in Soweto, Gauteng, but her trips to Kwazulu-natal to visit her grandmother during the December holidays and family in the Eastern Cape were memorable because they included beach trips.
Her first interaction with the ocean came when she was 11.
“It was an incredible encounter in the ocean. Little did we know about life under the water, all we knew were the shallow splashes.”
After matriculating at Northcliff High, she studied biochemistry at the University of Johannesburg for two years, but dropped out because she could not afford the tuition fees.
She worked in the corporate world but she felt she was not suited to it and regarded it to be a “boxed existence”.
“That’s because of how women and black people are treated in the workplace. I said to myself, I can’t do this.
“I was working in customer relations for a long time and doing very well, but then I decided to start my own consultancy. Maybe I didn't like to be told what to do,” she said.
After more work in the corporate sector, Ndhlovu realised it was not
something she wanted to do.
“I just felt there was something in the water that was calling.”
Ndhlovu responded to that call in 2016 when she went to Bali.
“During a breakfast session there, I heard ‘snorkel trip, snorkel trip’ … I ended up on a snorkel trip and that’s when my connection with the ocean began. Something on the inside of me changed. I felt a sense of belonging.”
She was directed towards scuba diving and freediving and became an instructor. In 2021, Ndhlovu started the Black Mermaid Foundation.
“I wanted to do more and tell others, especially black people, about this because in the past I almost always ended up being the only black person on a boat on diving trips.”
She said trying to understand why black people generally feared the water
was a conversation that happened around the world, and there were no answers.
Ndhlovu decided to focus her attention on children as it would provide long-term benefits, including spreading the message of ocean conservation.
“I wanted to create a diverse representation of the ocean because it was the most important thing for ocean conservation. As we diversify the ocean, we will have more people of colour as marine biologists, on recreational boats and in watersports.”
A few months after lockdown restrictions were brought to level 3 in 2020, she packed her car and decided to explore the country’s coastline.
Her five-month solo trip eventually landed her in Cape Town, where her foundation's community-based initiatives focused on children from the Langa township.
Without funding and through her own resourcefulness, Ndhlovu provided them with underwater experiences.
“I wasn't looking for funding and even though we are still not funded to this day, with the funds I had available, I’d take kids out on snorkelling trips.
“We kit up, jump into the ocean, but, in the build-up, it is terror, terror everywhere, then comes the joy.
“Once the kids jump in you can’t get them out.”
Ndhlovu firmly believes, “the ocean space is incredible … whether I take kids or adults out, I get to see
some of the most incredible worlds. Nobody will understand the path some traverse, moving from fear to courage.”
Some of her favourite diving spots are located in KZN, places like the Aliwal Shoal (5km offshore from the umkhomazi River mouth), and Sodwana Bay (North Coast).
She also enjoys Cape Town’s kelp forest and regards diving in Egypt’s warm and crystal-clear waters a must for every diver.
Her best ocean memory was when she hit her deepest free dive (20 metres) and the interaction she had with the curious whales, who released powerful sounds from their blowholes. Ndhlovu is not afraid of sharks. “Sharks are wild and have amazing strength, yet they are incredibly gentle. We can be around them and they mind their own business. I think movies like Jaws have wrongly indoctrinated us.
“I have also dived with dolphins. To hear them clipping about is incredible.”
Her view on exploration drilling and tapping into the sea for natural resources is that there has to be a balance.
“We have to strike a balance between protecting the ocean and ensuring the community has a dignified existence. You can’t ask them to protect the oceans, but they have no food. We need an African solution.”
Ndhlovu called for the government to be held accountable every time there were sewage and other spillages into our oceans.