Ayanda Cimoni’s journey from learning to swim to becoming a qualified commercial diver is inspiring others to keep learning and growing.
Cape Town, South Africa (30 July 2026) – Ayanda could not swim. Today, he is a qualified commercial diver and an important member of a team working to protect and monitor marine wildlife along Cape Town’s coastline.
After losing both his parents at a young age, Ayanda was raised by his older brother. He completed matric in 2015 and joined the V&A Waterfront in 2017. At the time, he knew very little about marine wildlife, but his curiosity and eagerness to learn quickly stood out.
His potential to become a Marine Wildlife Monitor was recognised, but there was one challenge: Ayanda could not swim.
Rather than allowing that to hold him back, Ayanda took swimming lessons and worked hard to build his confidence in the water. By early 2019, he had become a confident swimmer and was ready to take the next steps towards a career connected to the ocean.
His journey continued in 2023 when he earned his Open Water diving certification. Three years later, Ayanda is a qualified commercial diver and a valued member of the Marine Wildlife Management Team.
His progress has been celebrated by the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, which recognised the commitment and perseverance that have carried him from the pool to the ocean.
Today, Ayanda’s work contributes to the monitoring and protection of marine wildlife, while his journey offers an encouraging message to others who may be standing at the beginning of something new.
He may not have known how to swim when the opportunity first appeared, but he was willing to learn, and that decision has taken him further than he could have imagined.
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