Sodwana Bay, KZN, South Africa – 12 December 2025 – The eKhaya Centre, home to the NEWF (Nature, Environment & Wildlife Filmmakers) storytelling, research and dive hub, celebrated the landmark graduation of 20 youth interns from the KwaMbila area this weekend, many of whom have progressed from non-swimmers to certified Advanced Open Water divers, including two to fully qualified dive masters, in just six months.
Six months ago, the program set out “to increase their skills, to give them opportunities to grow, so that when this internship is finished, they have the skills to go and get jobs out in the world… anywhere in the world,” said Noel Kok, Executive Director of NEWF and National Geographic Explorer. “Our young people here; they are powerful. They are brilliant… They just need somebody to open the door.”
The internship, run from eKhaya, offers positions in media, housekeeping, maintenance and horticulture, logistics, admin, catering and ocean access, specifically lifeguarding and dive training from Open Water through to Rescue Diver, with pathways to Dive Master Instructor and beyond. Two interns from the community, including Nombuso Qwabe and Scelo Mthembu, have now qualified as dive masters, able to lead dives globally. Scelo Mthembu (Intern), along with NEWF Dive Centre management, Nkosikhona Mthembu and Silindile Mbuyazi, also received their Skippers licenses earlier this month.
The graduation celebration was attended by community leaders, such as Induna Lalela Gumede, parents, NEWF Fellows from across Africa, and partners of NEWF’s pan-African initiatives, underscoring the program’s role in creating an Africa-wide network of ocean storytellers and professionals.
In addition to training, NEWF, through the Africa Refocused program, with the support of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, PADI and the YES Internship Programme facilitated by Wild Impact and Nedbank, are making a direct economic impact on the local community. “The beauty of the internship is, [that] there are 40 individuals who are earning a salary every single month as we are contributing over R200,000 per month into the economy of the community,” Kok added, as he emphasised the importance of investing in cultivating skills, opportunities and earning potential.
As a storytelling, research and dive centre, eKhaya focuses on ocean literacy, dive training, and creative storytelling, while developing English language skills, equipping young Africans to access global opportunities while transforming their own coastline, stories and community from within. Through the support of PADI, NEWF has been recognised as a PADI Educational Facility, with PADI also sponsoring the registration and training materials for the interns for both Open Water and Advanced Open Water qualifications.
NEWF is a pan-African initiative that enhances capacity and supports African storytellers, scientists, and conservationists to tell their own stories about the continent’s land, oceans, and communities. Through fellowships, labs, and hubs like eKhaya, NEWF combines technical training (from diving and marine science exposure to filmmaking, photography and music composition) with mentorship and real-world production opportunities.
This internship programme underscores NEWF’s broader mission: young people from KwaMbila chiefdom, as well as those across Africa, are not only becoming skilled dive professionals, but are also stepping into the role of ocean storytellers and custodians of their coastline.
By enabling interns to go from not being able to swim to open water, advanced and dive master levels, while learning English and engaging with fellows from across the continent, NEWF is building a new generation of African ocean champions who can both do the conservation work and tell the stories that shift power, access and narrative back into African hands.
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Media enquiries:
Anneke Burns
Public Relations
071 423 0079
anneke@abpr.co.za
About NEWF
Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF) is a platform committed to building a diverse, representative community of African conservation content creators. Through training, mentorship, funding, and internships, NEWF supports storytellers, scientists, and filmmakers to bring African perspectives to global environmental conversations. Africa Refocused is a collaboration between NEWF and the National Geographic Society expands the reach of NEWF to ensure that stories of Africa are told by and from the perspectives of Africa’s people.
To learn more about NEWF, visit: https://www.newf.co.za/