I AM WATER Ocean Conservation is extremely fortunate to have the support of Roland Puckering and his incredible team at the Mbazwana SUPATRADE SPAR for our Outreach and Education Projects that we run with underprivileged children.

I AM WATER is a Non Profit Organisation that believes in ocean education through human experience. We work with children living in coastal communities and we give them an educational and transformative ocean experience by taking them into the ocean for the first time and by inspiring them to become ocean ambassadors.

Sodwana is an extremely important area for us to focus on because most of the local Sodwana residents haven’t had the opportunity to learn to swim, which leaves them unable to appreciate the wonders and the beauties on their blue doorstep. I AM WATER believes that we need to teach people, especially the children, to have the confidence to explore this underwater world as it is only once they understand and appreciate how precious this resource is that they will want to protect it. Also, we believe that these opportunities could lead to some of these children becoming Dive Masters, Boat Skippers and other related Ocean Employment positions.

For the third consecutive year, SPAR has generously donated nutritious food packs for the children to enjoy on the beach after their snorkeling experience. This kind donation is extremely helpful to us, as the money that we save on purchasing food for the children, is able to go back into the Ocean Experience Projects.  This is allows us to give more children this life changing experience.

In December 2016, I AM WATER’s Outreach and Education Manager, Beth Neale, broke two South African free-diving records to fund raise for our Outreach Projects with children. I AM WATER hope they will receive enough support and funding in the future so that we can one day help the children attending our Outreach Programs to grow up and break national records of their own. We are proudly South African and our coastline is a huge part of our heritage. As a result, we believe that children from disadvantaged coastal communities, like Sodwana, should be given the opportunity to excel both on land, and in the water.

We are extremely grateful to SPAR for their continued support and we look forward to our partnership growing from strength to strength so that we can further protect our oceans and change the lives of our future generation!