(CNN) — Zoona Naseem led nine children, some as young as eight, to the open waters of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, where they recalled a list of memories: switch to regulators, inflate the flotation devices, change the masks.
“If you’re having trouble with your ears, we’re not going down,” she yelled before the group took the plunge. “Going deep isn’t the most important thing. The most important thing is to enjoy the dive.”
Naseem certifies children as young as eight years old to dive.
Sylvain Dumond
“I have a dive center here to teach people to love the ocean,” she explained. “If someone doesn’t love the reef, they won’t think twice about throwing plastic in the ocean. But if they love the reef, they’ll do everything they can to not throw it in.”
Breaking Barriers
“When I went for my instructor training, there were no women. That was about 26 years ago,” she said. “I chose this (career) because I wanted a challenge. I wanted to prove that girls can do many things.”
Naseem teaches up to two dozen students to scuba dive at any given time.
Sylvain Dumond
Naseem taught scuba diving at resorts across the country. However, in 2016 she decided to start her own establishment on the small island of Villingili – partly to spend more time with her own children, but also in the hopes of inspiring other Maldivians to follow in her footsteps.
“If I worked at a resort, I would probably make more money and probably live an easier life,” Naseem said. “But I chose to start something here to open the door for (kids).”
Look forward to something
Whether diving or snorkeling, Naseem believes that all children should learn to feel comfortable in the water.
Sylvain Dumond
In addition to offering diving lessons in Villingili, Naseem says she has petitioned the Maldivian government to build a naval academy, which will provide the opportunity to learn about all aspects of the underwater world. She also hopes to open a mobile diving school that will travel across the country to teach as many children as possible to dive.
“In the Maldives, we are 99% water and only 1% land,” she said. “So I think the ocean should be the children’s playground.”
.