African Voices

Zandile Ndhlovu calls herself the ‘Black Mermaid,’ and she’s helping South Africans fall in love with the ocean

By Michelle Cohan, CNN
4 minute read
Published 10:08 PM EDT, Mon June 28, 2021
33-year-old South African free diver Zandile Ndhlovu founded The Black Mermaid Foundation to get more people of color into the ocean.
33-year-old South African free diver Zandile Ndhlovu founded The Black Mermaid Foundation to get more people of color into the ocean.
Bruce Buttery for CNN
Growing up, Ndhlovu says she was discouraged from swimming due to a generational fear of water.
Growing up, Ndhlovu says she was discouraged from swimming due to a generational fear of water.
Bruce Buttery for CNN
It wasn't until an impulsive snorkel trip in 2016 that Ndhlovu would discover her love for the ocean: "It was just the most incredible moment when I stopped panicking from thinking that I was drowning and just realizing the incredible world that was under there." Here, she dives in the waters off Cape Town.
It wasn't until an impulsive snorkel trip in 2016 that Ndhlovu would discover her love for the ocean: "It was just the most incredible moment when I stopped panicking from thinking that I was drowning and just realizing the incredible world that was under there." Here, she dives in the waters off Cape Town.
Bruce Buttery for CNN
Ndhlovu cites the impact of the transatlantic slave trade as a cause of continued fear around water: "When you look at slavery, people were thrown over the boats on these oceans ... (that) trauma is passed down through history."
Ndhlovu cites the impact of the transatlantic slave trade as a cause of continued fear around water: "When you look at slavery, people were thrown over the boats on these oceans ... (that) trauma is passed down through history."
Bruce Buttery for CNN
Pictured here among the kelp of the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/south-africa-sea-forest-secrets/index.html" target="_blank">African Sea Forest</a>, Ndhlovu went on to become the first Black female free dive instructor in South Africa. She quickly noticed its lack of diversity, and was always the only Black person on the boat, she says.
Pictured here among the kelp of the African Sea Forest, Ndhlovu went on to become the first Black female free dive instructor in South Africa. She quickly noticed its lack of diversity, and was always the only Black person on the boat, she says.
Bruce Buttery for CNN
Ndhlovu swiftly set out to make the ocean a more inclusive and diverse place, starting with Black children. She runs ocean exploration programs, where she introduces them to water -- some for the very first time.
Ndhlovu swiftly set out to make the ocean a more inclusive and diverse place, starting with Black children. She runs ocean exploration programs, where she introduces them to water -- some for the very first time.
Bruce Buttery for CNN
"I always believe we can only care about something once we've seen it, and when we talk about ocean advocates, it starts here. It starts by getting into the water," Ndhlovu says.
"I always believe we can only care about something once we've seen it, and when we talk about ocean advocates, it starts here. It starts by getting into the water," Ndhlovu says.
Bruce Buttery for CNN
Her immediate priority is the ocean, she adds, but her dream is to see more inclusive spaces everywhere: "That's my heart's work."
Her immediate priority is the ocean, she adds, but her dream is to see more inclusive spaces everywhere: "That's my heart's work."
Bruce Buttery for CNN
Meet Zandile Ndhlovu, South Africa's 'Black mermaid'
CNN  — 

If the blue hair wasn’t already a giveaway, Zandile Ndhlovu is channeling her inner mermaid.

A South African nine-to-fiver turned free diver, Ndhlovu says the ocean is the only place she’s felt a sense of belonging.

Yet the 33-year-old only discovered that feeling five years ago during an impulsive snorkel trip in Bali. “It was just the most incredible moment when I stopped panicking from thinking that I was drowning and just realizing the incredible world that was under there,” Ndhlovu tells CNN.

Fear gave way to excitement and soon she owned the sea – getting certified in everything from scuba diving to free diving – but she took note of its lack of diversity.

“When I got into this ocean space, for two to three years, I was always the only Black person on the boat,” Ndhlouvi says. “I had never seen another diver who looked like me.”

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This freediver is creating a more diverse ocean
03:32 - Source: CNN

After she became South Africa’s first Black African free diving instructor, she says she felt a responsibility to make the ocean a more inclusive place.

Ndhlovu created The Black Mermaid Foundation, titled after her self-given nickname, with the intention of getting more people of color into the sea. “Where that (name) came from was just the realization that there were no Black mermaids exploring in the water the way that I was. And what followed was wanting to create representation around that,” she says.

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