Zandile Ndhlovu
Mermaid in Africa
Growing in landlocked Soweto, Zandile Ndhlovu never used the word ocean. It was always ‘the sea’, and it was all but forbidden. Today she is South Africa’s first Black female freediving instructor, with a mission to spread her love of the ocean to as many people as she can.
Zandile’s first snorkelling trip in 2016 was terrifying. But then she looked down – and she was hooked. “It feels like accessing the infinite. You are formless and you are everything. “These seconds feel like eternity,”
She says in Shaped by Water, a film that explores the interconnectedness of bodies of water. “I wanted to create access to ocean spaces especially in the community from which I come, where we were told stories about fearful creatures that lived in the water, and told to stay away.”
Zandile founded The Black Mermaid Foundation in 2020, and began offering educational snorkel excursions in township communities to learners between 11 and 15 years old. She sees it as an opportunity to see more diverse representation in ocean spaces, and raise a new group of ocean guardians. She’s also changing the story through films like The Black Mermaid, and her children’s book Zandi’s Song, which introduces the wonder of the ocean and educates about plastic pollution. Find out more through Zandile’s website, follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
