Atuwa dives against the tide

DAR ES SALAAM: THE ocean looks calm from the surface, but 12 metres below the turquoise waters of Mnemba Island, Atuwa Omar is rebuilding a world few people ever see.

Armed with diving gear and fragments of living coral, she descends into the Indian Ocean to restore damaged reefs, one careful transplant at a time. Every dive helps create new habitats where fish can return, marine life can flourish and coastal communities can protect the natural treasure that sustains them.

For a woman once told that diving and coral restoration were “a man’s job”, each journey beneath the waves has become something more. It is proof that courage can change minds as surely as coral can change a reef.

Atuwa is Zanzibar’s first female marine ranger with Wild Impact’s Oceans Without Borders programme, which works with local communities to restore and protect the marine ecosystems around Mnemba Island through coral restoration, research and conservation.

Atuwa grew up close to the ocean, but that did not mean she was comfortable beneath it.

Before joining the conservation programme in 2023, she only snorkelled a few metres below the surface. The deeper water terrified her.

Everything changed when she was offered training. She learnt to dive, operate boats as a skipper and even weld and shape metal, skills she never imagined would become part of her everyday life.

“If they had not trained me, I would just have been going to work and being afraid because there is deep water,” she said.

What once felt impossible has become second nature. Today, she prepares diving equipment, descends into the reef and spends hours working underwater with confidence that only experience can build.

Much of Atuwa’s work begins in underwater coral nurseries, where damaged coral fragments are carefully nurtured before being transplanted onto degraded reefs.

Her team also installs Reef Stars, star-shaped metal structures that stabilise broken reef surfaces and provide a foundation where new coral can grow. The restoration effort forms part of a broader community-based conservation programme that has been operating around Mnemba Island since 2018.

The reward, she says, is seeing life return.

“When I see the work that I have done with my own hands making a difference, I feel happy because I know it is benefiting the community.”

The clearest sign comes when colourful schools of fish begin returning to places where marine life had once disappeared.

Healthy coral reefs do more than shelter marine creatures. They support fishing livelihoods, protect coastlines and help sustain Zanzibar’s tourism industry, where visitors travel from around the world to experience the islands’ famous beaches and underwater biodiversity.

The toughest challenge did not come from strong currents or cold water.

It came from people who believed women had no place in the profession.

“When I started, people would say working with coral and doing this kind of work was not a woman’s job, and that I was trying to do a man’s job,” she recalled.

For years, diving and marine conservation had been viewed as work reserved for men.

Instead of backing away, Atuwa kept showing up.

As her confidence grew, attitudes slowly began to shift. Her success has opened conversations that once seemed impossible, and she hopes more women will follow the path she helped create.

“I would tell them not to give up on this kind of work, even when people tell them that it is difficult or that it is not a job for women.”

Atuwa’s story does not end when she climbs back into the boat.

She is also a wife and mother of two, balancing early mornings at sea with the responsibilities of raising a young family.

When she first became a marine ranger, she was unmarried. Today, her income, combined with her husband’s work as a motorcycle rider, helps support their household and their children’s future.

Her husband, she says, has grown to appreciate the importance of her work and supports the career she loves.

Being a marine ranger and being a mother are not competing identities.

They are simply different parts of the same woman.

She also navigates cultural expectations as a Muslim woman working at sea. She wears a wetsuit while diving for safety and changes back into her usual clothing once the day’s work is complete, a balance that allows her to remain connected to both her profession and her values.

One reason Atuwa speaks openly about her work is because she believes marine rangers rarely receive the recognition they deserve.

“Many people do not even know that marine rangers exist or that we protect marine life, including fish,” she said.

When people hear the word “ranger”, they often picture someone protecting elephants or lions in national parks.

Few imagine someone restoring coral beneath the sea. That is why this year’s Wildlife Ranger Challenge means so much to her. Organised by Tusk in partnership with the Game Rangers Association of Africa, the event brings ranger teams from across the continent together for a physical challenge culminating in a 21-kilometre race on September 19, while raising funds for ranger equipment, training and welfare.

For Atuwa, the race represents something larger than a finish line. It is another chance to show that conservation happens wherever nature needs protecting, whether on land or beneath the waves.

The woman who once feared deep water now spends her days restoring one of Zanzibar’s most precious ecosystems.

Every coral she plants helps strengthen reefs that support marine life, tourism and coastal communities.

Every dive also chips away at another barrier, the belief that some careers belong only to men. The work may happen where most people cannot see it.

ALSO READ: Livestock projects empower 90 women’s groups

But its impact reaches far beyond the ocean floor.

Beneath the waves, Atuwa Omar is restoring coral.

Above the water, she is quietly reshaping what is possible for women in conservation, one dive at a time.