Future HOPE Kids with Ocean Spirit in Mauritius

The future protection and conservation of marine resources rests in the hands of today's children. To protect marine resources, they must understand them and how to protect them from pillaging. They need to prevent the sale of reef fish. They need to understand how to protect of our lagoons. But first, they need to understand the ocean. How to swim. How to get out to the reefs. How to dive. How to fish sustainably. How to harvest the oceans bounty conservatively.

We returned from a great dive on Coin de Mire and as we were off-loading the tanks from the boat we saw an orderly group of school children playing ball on the beach. I went across to ask the teacher if they would be allowed to ride on the boat, have some fun and perhaps develop an interest in the ocean.

He was thrilled. So were they. Next day they were back, with bathing costumes and parents permission, excited to be going for a ride on a scuba diving boat. Patient and kind our skipper Jovany explained the safety aspect of boat discipline.

Take a look at our future Conservationists, Marine Biologists and Scuba Divers on our dive boat Chelonia Mydas.

https://youtu.be/BSLRz0ntLi0

We later discovered that they were from the Future Hope Foundation in Port Louis, an NGO assisting troubled families. These kids are our future Conservationists, Marine Biologists and Scuba Divers but none of them had been in a boat on the ocean. Most of them can't swim. We later discovered that they were from the Future Hope Foundation in Port Louis, an NGO assisting troubled families.

Ocean Spirit has sponsored many NGOs in the past, and among them are Syah, Seeing Blue, The Tap Water Revolution, EPCO, Reef Conservation, and of course PADI Project Aware.

We watched as Barkha Mossae (below) a passionate Scuba Diver and pioneer of The Tap Water Revolution joined the Diplomatic Corps where she has met the Queen of England, and survived the terrifying revolution in Ethiopia while promoting the Mauritius Blue Economy.

We have watched in awe as Karuna Rana (BELOW LEFT), our Tap Water Revolution connection went on to an interview with the BBC where she explained about the plastic packets and bottles that were tossed into the vacant lots around her office, and how they might reach the ocean. Within a year the Mauritian Government had banned plastics.

Now that we know about Future HOPE Port Louis, we hope to help them with promotions and fund raisers. Building a passion for the ocean and a new group of scuba divers among Mauritius children.