Mozambique · Since 2012

Mozambique Ocean Guardians Education Program

Marine conservation lessons, swimming, and water safety for children and young people on Mozambique's Inhambane coast, taught by local instructors since 2012.

6,220children graduated from our marine conservation curriculum since 2012

1,902people taught to swim safely by our swim school

16coastal schools where we have taught the curriculum

6program sites, from Tofo to Vilanculos

Ocean Guardians is the educational branch of the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) in Mozambique. A UNESCO-recognized program, it focuses on bringing local communities closer to the ocean and helping them understand why marine conservation and water safety matter.

The goal is to teach the next generation to love and protect the ocean. We teach children and young adults how climate change affects Mozambique’s reefs and fisheries, encourage them to appreciate the beautiful Mozambican coastline, and inspire them to live in ways that benefit their communities and the planet.

The program helps develop future scientists, professionals, and policymakers who will advocate for the ocean and tackle the problems that climate change is causing in Mozambique. Together, we believe, we can make a substantial difference for the ocean and its coastal communities.

Ocean Guardians is a UNESCO Green Citizens Project, an international recognition of its work in marine conservation education, community engagement, and the promotion of sustainable living in Mozambique.

What we've done

Ocean Guardians is a UNESCO Green Citizens Project.
6,220 children have graduated from our marine conservation curriculum in Inhambane Province since the program began in 2012, and our swim school has taught 1,902 people to swim safely.
Azevedo Chitsumba, who joined MMF as a volunteer and began teaching with the program in 2016, now leads it as Education Program Manager.
We have taught the curriculum in 16 coastal schools, and in 2025 the district education service invited us to extend it into secondary schools for the first time.
A sixth site opened in Vilanculos in September 2026, led by MMF’s Simone José Cumbe, who took part in Ocean Guardians as a schoolchild in Tofo.
We built four new climate-resilient classrooms at Morrungulo Primary School, in two blocks completed in 2023 and 2024 with support from the Embassy of Ireland.
The integrated marine conservation, swimming, and water safety program has grown and evolved through lessons learned and best practices.
Local instructors are trained to deliver the curriculum, building community involvement.
The program inspires behavior change, as participants share their knowledge with their communities.

Children in a crowded classroom raise their hands during a marine conservation lesson

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Our work with Ocean Guardians in Mozambique

A marine conservation curriculum for schools

In schools, Ocean Guardians delivers a comprehensive, government-approved marine conservation curriculum designed to build a deep appreciation for the ocean and a clear understanding of why and how to conserve it safely.

The curriculum’s core subjects are marine conservation, swimming, and water safety. Since 2012, 6,220 young Mozambicans in Inhambane Province have graduated from it, and we have taught it in 16 coastal schools. We also work with more than 180 teachers across the province, extending the program’s reach far beyond the children we teach directly.

The curriculum has evolved continually since 2012, incorporating lessons learned and best practices. It runs all year, delivered by trained local Ocean Guardian instructors who build strong partnerships with schools and extend outreach to remote communities.

A School Director from Conguiana, Inhambane, described its effect: “Before, they didn’t know about the ocean, and now they are excited, they want to go to their lessons. The children even share with the community.”

An Ocean Guardians instructor teaches a class of primary school students

A record year in 2025

2025 was the largest year in the program’s history: 1,776 young Mozambicans graduated as Ocean Guardians.

Of these, 794 graduated from the primary school curriculum at seven schools across Bazaruto, Morrungulo, Tofo, Barra, and Rocha. A further 620 graduated from the new secondary school stream at three schools. The schools and the district education service asked us to create that stream, recognizing how much difference the lessons make to students about to leave school and enter the workforce. Just over half of the secondary graduates were young women.

The remaining 362 graduated from our swim school, learning to swim at Tofo, Morrungulo, and Bazaruto; 188 of them were girls.

A young woman holds up her Ocean Guardians certificate on the beach

Beyond the classroom

Beyond formal schooling, our community program gives children who are unable to attend school regularly the opportunity to learn and benefit from Ocean Guardians.

In 2025, 100 children joined our Saturday activities in Tofo, Morrungulo, and Bazaruto, from beach cleanups and arts and crafts to water safety lessons, ocean safaris, and visits to the mangroves.

Children cheer behind a whale shark they sculpted in the sand, with "Tubarão Baleia" written beside it

Swimming and water safety

The swimming program is central to Ocean Guardians. Its aim is to change the perception of the ocean in Mozambique from an intimidating and dangerous place to an environment that can be enjoyed safely and responsibly. Through comprehensive training and firsthand experience, participants develop a profound respect for the ocean and a love of swimming.

Participants, including children, young adults, and adult fishers, receive extensive training in water safety and swimming, skills that, we believe, can build a healthy relationship between the community and the ocean. Some of our students have gone on to compete in Mozambique’s national swimming championships.

The program includes an “ocean safari,” on which participants have the opportunity to snorkel alongside whale sharks and manta rays, building an appreciation and respect for the biodiversity of the ocean.

Former participants

The program has inspired many participants to develop a deep love for the ocean. Narciso Nhampossa, one of the first to join Ocean Guardians, has become one of the top surfers at Tofo Beach and now lives in Sweden, where he teaches swimming to children.

A swimming instructor supports a child floating on a pool noodle in the sea

The Coral Reef Club

Established in 2018, the Coral Reef Club is a central part of Ocean Guardians, developing a new generation of Mozambican scientists, professionals, and policymakers committed to conserving the ocean.

The club is for young adults aged 16 to 21 who have completed the Ocean Guardians program. In 2025 it had 32 members, half of them young women. Through a range of courses, activities, and experiences, the club equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and experience to become effective advocates for marine conservation and sustainable living.

Marine conservation courses: The curriculum covers the importance of marine megafauna to the community, economy, and heritage of Mozambique, and participants have opportunities to engage directly with marine scientists to deepen their understanding.
Leadership and communication skills: We focus on developing communication, collaboration, self-confidence, critical thinking, and problem-solving, the skills that underpin effective leadership and advocacy in any field.
English lessons: These build language skills that can broaden participants’ career opportunities internationally.
Practical lessons: Hands-on experience is integral to the club, including Ocean Safaris, university field visits, snorkeling, rock pool exploration, whale watching, and trips to the mangroves.
Community action projects: Participants work directly with their communities through initiatives such as Environmental Community Fairs, Plastic Pollution Awareness Events, and school campaigns on waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.

Vocational training

Coral Reef Club members have opportunities to intern in fields such as fish farming and permaculture, ecotourism, SCUBA diving, and lifeguarding. Since 2025, members have also taken vocational courses through IFPELAC, a government technical training institute, and APEC, a private provider offering shorter, more practical courses. Subjects include electrical work, refrigeration, accounting, catering, tailoring, and hospitality.

By the end of 2025, 14 members had taken part; three had graduated and three were undertaking internships. These pathways provide practical skills for earning a sustainable income, and give young people from fishing families a route to a livelihood that does not depend on catching more fish.

Young people hold up their certificates on the beach

Taking the reef to people who have never seen it

Most children in these communities live a few hundred meters (a few hundred yards) from one of the most biodiverse coastlines in Africa and have never seen what is under the surface. Our virtual reality program brings that underwater world to them: a short immersive film of Mozambican reefs, mantas, whale sharks, and seagrass meadows, delivered in schools, at community events, and at public exhibitions.

In 2025 the VR program reached 4,810 people, including showings at the Inhambane Regional Museum during Mozambique’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations, the Marine Biodiversity Conference in Beira, and the Tourism Summit in Vilanculos. Thank you to ElasmOcean for funding the program’s VR headsets.

A child watches an underwater film through a virtual reality headset

Program expansion

The model works, and the demand is greater than we can currently meet.

In 2025 the Inhambane District Education Service approved the program’s expansion into five secondary schools, an additional primary school in Barra, and two new communities in the south of Bazaruto Island.

In September 2026 Ocean Guardians opened its sixth site, in Vilanculos, joining Tofo, Barra, Rocha, Morrungulo, and Bazaruto Island. More than seven in ten families in Mahaque live from the sea. At Escola de Mahaque, 109 Grade 6 children aged 11 to 13 are taking the marine conservation lessons, and a separate group of 40 joins our Saturday activities: 149 children in all. By the team’s September count, 95 children are learning to swim. Thank you to Go2Africa for supporting the launch of Ocean Guardians in Vilanculos.

Every new site follows the same approach: an experienced instructor from an established program moves to the new community for the first year and mentors a locally hired assistant, transferring responsibility as the year progresses. The program is then run by someone from that community, for that community, which is the only way it lasts. In Vilanculos that instructor is Simone José Cumbe, formerly Master Swimming Instructor at our Tofo program and himself an Ocean Guardians graduate. He moved north to lead the new site and works alongside Érica Gulele, a qualified primary teacher from Vilanculos, recruited as Junior Education Officer.