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Two of AMMCO’s staff members have become certified dive masters after completing a three-month training program with our partner, Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF), in Sedwona Bay, South Africa.
 

Prince Koku and Thierry Aviti started their training in July 2024 and completed it in September of the same year. This training falls in line with AMMCO’s short term goal of creating the first ever dive center in Cameroon. Their program included both theoretical and practical sessions, equipping them to lead dive sessions in Cameroon that will attract not only locals but also diving enthusiasts from the central African sub-region.

Aviti, AMMCO’s Freshwater Program Manager, initially dreamed of becoming a footballer or a doctor. While those aspirations lingered through his high school years, he ultimately pursued an engineering degree in Aquatic Ecosystem Management at the Institute of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Douala. “Becoming a diver, let alone a dive master, was never something I envisioned as a child,” he admits.

Aviti's first dive in 2019, undertaken during his university days, was a shallow, murky experience in a waist-deep river. “It was a revelation—breathing and seeing underwater was incredible, despite the less-than-ideal conditions,” he says. Eager to delve deeper into the underwater world, Aviti seized an opportunity in April 2024 to join fellow West African diving enthusiasts at a dive lab in Sedwana Bay, South Africa, organized by NEWF and AMMCO. “I was thrilled yet nervous, as it was my first ocean dive,” he shares. “That initial experience was challenging, but my determination, excitement, and confidence ignited my love for the ocean and its rich biodiversity.”

Koku's journey diverges from Aviti’s. A fisherman, Koku grew up in close contact with the ocean but never imagined he would become an open water diver. He learned to swim as a survival skill for his daily fishing activities. Participating in the West Africa Dive Lab in South Africa in April 2024 like Avitiexpanded his horizons, deepening his passion for the underwater realm. “I was just a fisherman, and now I'm a dive master,” he reflects, noting his lifelong affinity for the water.

His story is one of continuity. Kuko’s father, Pa Mensa, was once a serial poacher of sea turtles who later joined AMMCO’s SIREN network in Cameroon, a network of local fishermen that collects data on marine sightings using a mobile application,SIREN app. His life changed, and he became the most devoted campaigner for the protection of sea turtles in his Batoke community on the coast of Southwestern Cameroon. He saved over 40 sea turtles and 500 sea turtle eggs. Then, he unfortunately passed away in 2023. However, his legacy lives onas Kuko has continued it and is even taking it to another level.

Aviti’s primary goal now is to share his knowledge with aspiring divers in Cameroon to promote the dive culture in a country whose coastlines extends over 400km.  “I plan to share the diving knowledge I gained from South Africa in Cameroon by becoming an advocate for underwater exploration and marine conservation in my community”, he says. “I want to organize workshops, talks, and dive experiences to introduce more people to the underwater world and highlight the need to protect it”.

While diving in the Indian Ocean in South Africa, Koku observed a stark contrast between the waters of the Indian Ocean and those of the Atlantic Ocean in Cameroon, which he is accustomed to. “The tides in the Indian Ocean are much stronger,” he says, adding that the white sandy beaches in South Africa are a sharp contrast to the black sandy beaches he is accustomed to in his community. As a dive master, Koku aims to inspire his Batoke community in the coastal town of Limbe, Cameroon.