Episode 9 Eco-Friendly It Up Exclusive with Founder of African Sea Divers Lorato Mokone
Watch Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548
Episode 9: Eco-Friendly It Up Exclusive with Lorato Mokone - Founder of African Sea Divers
Sunday 02nd November 2025 / 11th Jumada al Ula 1447AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)
Listen to Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548
Episode 9: Eco-Friendly It Up Exclusive with Lorato Mokone - Founder of African Sea Divers
Sunday 02nd November 2025 / 11th Jumada al Ula 1447AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)
Transcript
7 seconds
Dear listeners, it's Yul Aad and right now in South Africa, it's 7 minutes past
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2:00 p.m. on this 11th day of Jamaadal Oola 1447 ah
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uh which corresponds to Sunday the 2nd of November 2025.
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I'm Zad Plchis and with me in studio are my co-hosts Nabia and Issa Plachis and brother Zad will be looking after us
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this afternoon inshallah. We are coming to you live from the radio Islam international studios in Johannesburg.
42 seconds
Welcome to Level Up where we listen,
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learn and grow inshallah with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance and we break down the week's news and talk
52 seconds
about what really matters to young Muslims today. Our WhatsApp line is open. The number is 0727861548 or you can call in on 01854702.
1 minute, 7 seconds
So this week in the news out wait before you get into the national news let's quickly speak about the
1 minute, 15 seconds
community news more specifically retail because there's some excitement in the air at the moment. Okay.
1 minute, 22 seconds
The Lens Quarter has opened in Lynia in Koeng. Okay.
1 minute, 27 seconds
And um so okay just just on the the the topic of the Lens Quarter um there's actually a halal vida e there.
1 minute, 36 seconds
Okay. A fully halal V. So if you know the R&B family food synonymous with Nandos and Spurs and Rockam Mamas, they've opened a fully halal vida e there.
1 minute, 45 seconds
Alhamdulillah. I can't wait to go check that out. Mubarak to them.
1 minute, 48 seconds
Mubarak. Okay. And then yes, there wasn't much um traffic there today, so that's good. Um there was a car show for EOS.
1 minute, 55 seconds
Yes, we enjoy that. And then um more nationally, there's the largest fully halal certified checkers store open in
2 minutes, 5 seconds
Durban, more specifically Westful Quazula Natal. And um that store builds on the you know the foundation laid by
2 minutes, 14 seconds
the Czech food in Kawi Road, which is halal. So there's excitement in the air for that as well. Yeah. So, so two um checkers. Yes.
2 minutes, 24 seconds
Um did you know that there's a halal dopio in Benoni?
2 minutes, 30 seconds
Oh, so we have a a halal dopio in in as well.
2 minutes, 34 seconds
Okay. So, there we go. We haven't checked that one out as yet though.
2 minutes, 37 seconds
So, so we Is today's show all about food?
2 minutes, 40 seconds
No, it's not. You can go straight into the news now. Okay. Um, so, uh, this week in the news,
2 minutes, 48 seconds
our timelines have been filled with the stories of bullying in schools with more parents and students coming forward. Um,
2 minutes, 56 seconds
and more video surfacing of the horrific acts. Um, it's just it's if you see the videos, you just
3 minutes, 4 seconds
I actually tried not to, but I I kept seeing like, you know, like snippets of um information being passed, you know,
3 minutes, 12 seconds
new new information that's built. I I believe that there's more people that have come forward um that said that the
3 minutes, 20 seconds
bully has you know hurt their children and so on. But yeah, it is quite horrific.
3 minutes, 26 seconds
But it's it's not only that. I think it's more the fact that these kids are actually videoing while they're doing
3 minutes, 33 seconds
these acts. So they they're not only doing these things knowingly, you know,
3 minutes, 38 seconds
like but they're doing it and they're videoing it.
3 minutes, 41 seconds
That's disgusting. That is really disgusting. I don't know.
3 minutes, 45 seconds
We need to seriously look at our children, pay attention to them and you know um get them to stop maybe love them
3 minutes, 54 seconds
some. I don't know what it is because is isn't it we should actually we should actually get um an expert to to to
4 minutes, 1 second
discuss this with us but it probably is you know like lack of attention. I mean it's it's bad. we shouldn't condone this
4 minutes, 8 seconds
behavior but their parents need to take accountability.
4 minutes, 12 seconds
Yeah. No, we we definitely I think we need to get an expert in on the program inshallah one of the future episodes. Uh we need to discuss it and we need to get
4 minutes, 21 seconds
to the root of the problem and how how we can assist uh the community inshallah.
4 minutes, 27 seconds
But in other news, Johannesburg residents are running out of water,
4 minutes, 31 seconds
power, and patience. protest took place yesterday in Johannesburg over the constant lack of utilities and maintenance which protesters say are due
4 minutes, 39 seconds
to neglect and mismanagement and diversion of public funds.
4 minutes, 44 seconds
Yeah. So with this in mind, I thought in keeping with our global um um theme and
4 minutes, 51 seconds
how we need to preserve this planet um there's only planet A, there's no planet B
4 minutes, 58 seconds
um that we are living on. We thought that today we would chat about being eco-friendly. Okay.
5 minutes, 3 seconds
Um there's obviously lots to discuss. Um when we're thinking about going green,
5 minutes, 8 seconds
people just think about solar panels and obviously that's the most expensive thing to to look at. Um so we thought we'll just start with the basics and
5 minutes, 17 seconds
hopefully build on it in future episodes. Inshallah.
5 minutes, 20 seconds
Inshallah. So I spoke to uh Lorato McConn, the founder of African Sea Divers about sea pollution and ways in
5 minutes, 28 seconds
which we could preserve our oceans uh which we will share after the break inshallah. Um and Issa also has a few uh
5 minutes, 39 seconds
tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle. If and if any of our dear listeners have any tips that they would like to share in order to reduce, reuse
5 minutes, 48 seconds
and recycle, you can share them on WhatsApp, call in or you can even DM them us uh DM us, DM them to us on
5 minutes, 57 seconds
Instagram. Uh we're on live at the moment at i lovez.com. Um yeah.
6 minutes, 4 seconds
Okay. Um so you know how they uh speaking of like conserving the the environment and you know how they speak
6 minutes, 12 seconds
about actually I don't know who is they by the way I don't know who they are but they have created a day for like almost
6 minutes, 20 seconds
everything you know what I mean like um world food day world environment day and so on. So in most cases these days,
6 minutes, 30 seconds
why are you laughing?
6 minutes, 30 seconds
No, you said they. It's obviously people in the industry that have decided that they will come up with these days to uh
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commemorate or that's what I'm saying. So they have it's a lot of days
6 minutes, 46 seconds
have created yes these people in the environment I mean in the industries have created these days you know these
6 minutes, 56 seconds
certain days to raise the public's awareness about the importance of certain things or to encourage
7 minutes, 4 seconds
individuals and communities and governments to take action.
7 minutes, 9 seconds
Right? So in terms of um this world that we are living in even though it's a temporary world and um as Muslims our
7 minutes, 17 seconds
Islamic teachings strongly encourage actions that make the world easier and cleaner for future generations. So even
7 minutes, 26 seconds
though it's temporary we still need to make sure that we look after our planet our world for our future generations.
7 minutes, 34 seconds
And um for through the Islamic teachings, these are done primarily through the concepts of stewardship,
7 minutes, 41 seconds
avoiding corruption and practicing moderation.
7 minutes, 46 seconds
Okay? So I I'm sure you know what practicing moderation and avoiding corruption means, right? But
7 minutes, 53 seconds
stewardship, I had to go look up the meaning of that and this is what it said. It said it's the job of
8 minutes
supervising or taking care of something such as an organization or property.
8 minutes, 7 seconds
Okay. So, it's basically taking accountability for our actions, not just to benefit ourselves, but to benefit
8 minutes, 15 seconds
others, our younger generation, our future generations.
8 minutes, 20 seconds
And this is pertinent to something that you've mentioned um in the news, you know, earlier. And there's a hadith
8 minutes, 28 seconds
actually on accountability and looking after each other, but I need to find that. I I don't have that at the moment. But besides taking accountability,
8 minutes, 39 seconds
Islam looks at environmental preservation as an act of charity with rewards that can benefit future
8 minutes, 47 seconds
generations. So there's a hadith that I read that states if a Muslim plants a
8 minutes, 54 seconds
tree or sews seeds and then a bird or a person or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift.
9 minutes, 3 seconds
Alhamdulillah for him. It's a sodaka for him. Right? So this is the importance of environmental action and it's further
9 minutes, 10 seconds
highlighted by the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam saying about he even said this about planting a palm shoot
9 minutes, 18 seconds
even if the hour of resurrection is about to begin. So that's how important you know it is to take care of our
9 minutes, 26 seconds
environment and then of course it's our duty to avoid waste and not to harm
9 minutes, 32 seconds
others or our environment as this disrupts the natural balance.
9 minutes, 39 seconds
So um this is where you know your favorite saying comes in the that banana banana peel story the the the the saying
9 minutes, 47 seconds
about removing harm from the road is a branch of faith. So it includes addressing pollution as well as
9 minutes, 55 seconds
ultimately not harming someone by them slipping on it or you know hurting themsel harming themsel from it.
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And in terms of um environment there's also historical examples like Abu Bakr's instructions to his troops not to damage
10 minutes, 12 seconds
natural resources even during the war which underscore the value of preserving the environment for future use.
10 minutes, 20 seconds
Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Okay. So, with that,
10 minutes, 24 seconds
we'll take it away to Issa with his tips. Okay.
10 minutes, 30 seconds
So, I recently I recently learned that in Japan there
10 minutes, 38 seconds
are hardly any dozens and that Japanese people only buy enough
10 minutes, 44 seconds
for them to eat so they don't waste and that they will put the dirt from what
10 minutes, 52 seconds
they have ate like a can or packaging from food in a packet and keep it until they get home.
11 minutes, 6 seconds
I do a few things at home and my parents do too in order for us to reduce, reuse,
11 minutes, 16 seconds
and recycle which I would like to share today.
11 minutes, 21 seconds
Number one, don't let the tap run while brushing your teeth. Try and use a cup
11 minutes, 28 seconds
of water for rinsing your toothbrush and mouth. Number two,
11 minutes, 35 seconds
try to take shorter showers and turn off the shower water while putting on soap and shampoo and
11 minutes, 45 seconds
only put it on when rinsing. Number three, catch water in a bucket when you
11 minutes, 52 seconds
have a shower to reuse for uh for flushing the toilet or watering the plants. Number four,
12 minutes, 3 seconds
put bricks in your system to save water when flushing the toilet.
12 minutes, 9 seconds
Number five, place your outlet pipe for your washing machine in a bucket to use the water to water your garden.
12 minutes, 20 seconds
Number six, after using a plastic bottle, refill it with water, put it in
12 minutes, 27 seconds
the fridge or freezer, and when you go out, give it to someone in need or even a car guard,
12 minutes, 36 seconds
etc. Number seven,
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try to use glass bottles more and recycle them when they get old.
12 minutes, 48 seconds
Number eight, keep shopping bags with you so you don't have to buy plastic bags when you go out.
12 minutes, 57 seconds
Number nine, use a bucket to wash your car, bike, or toys instead of a hose.
13 minutes, 5 seconds
Number 10, donate clothes and old clothes and toys to kids in need. Number
13 minutes, 13 seconds
11, don't litter your keep your trash until you find a bin.
13 minutes, 22 seconds
And number 12, turn off lights and plugs and gizer if you are not using them.
13 minutes, 33 seconds
Alhamdulillah. account for that, Issa. Um, those are very good tips. I think,
13 minutes, 39 seconds
um, we actually have a tip here. I just saw something come through now.
13 minutes, 43 seconds
Hopefully, we can all try to do these things to help conserve water and energy and keep our surroundings clean.
13 minutes, 52 seconds
Inshallah. Inshallah. I mean, oh yeah. Okay. So,
13 minutes, 56 seconds
here's it here. It says um from one of our listeners it says don't let the tap run while making hudoo. Fill a jug of
14 minutes, 4 seconds
water instead and use that to make wuzoo.
14 minutes, 8 seconds
Alhamdulillah. That's I think that's a very good tip. And I see um a lot of mashids now having signs to say don't
14 minutes, 15 seconds
waste water. Um water is a gift from Allah. Uh use water sparingly. And
14 minutes, 22 seconds
there's actually a few mashies we've been to and they've got these new uh um what do they call them? Faucets. Um the
14 minutes, 31 seconds
the um outlet pipe um where you know you can it has a sensor. Okay.
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So only a little bit of water comes out but also it comes out when you put your hand there. So um you know you don't you
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don't overuse it because I think um a lot of the time you go and you make wudoo and you just open the tap
14 minutes, 53 seconds
completely and then it's like on full blast you just wast a lot of people open full blast they don't need it full blast and then while they're busy you know
15 minutes, 1 second
doing something it's still it's open and it's just cuz I have I because of this these things I do have habit of closing
15 minutes, 8 seconds
afterwards you know I'll I'll take I'll close I'll do I'll take I'll close I'll So yeah, I have also seen that in the
15 minutes, 16 seconds
ladies section when we go to these um my streets.
15 minutes, 21 seconds
Yeah. So um alhamdulillah that's a very good tip and if there's any more eco-friendly tips we would like to hear from you. Our
15 minutes, 30 seconds
WhatsApp line is 0727861548 or you can call in on 01854702.
15 minutes, 39 seconds
You can also DM us as well. Yeah.
15 minutes, 42 seconds
DM to us. What did you say? At I love Zarkcom. Yes. I love I L O V E Z A C O M.
15 minutes, 49 seconds
Yes. Okay. So, um Yeah. So, on that that point of the um making and stuff. I think in the bathrooms.
15 minutes, 58 seconds
In the bathrooms. Um I remember I was at a airport once. I think it was in Mosamb beek or something.
16 minutes, 4 seconds
Oh my. We want to say that you want to be fancy to show that you went there.
16 minutes, 9 seconds
But I know I just want this is a joke by the way. See it goes for these launches and it's not as glamorous as people
16 minutes, 16 seconds
thinks it is. And also by the way we don't go with him sometime most of the time.
16 minutes, 22 seconds
Well that's that's why I'm saying it's not as glamorous because at the airport they alhamdulillah they have a little masala but they didn't have a hudoo
16 minutes, 30 seconds
kana. Okay. So we had to make wudoo in the um bathroom right and now everybody
16 minutes, 37 seconds
uses the bathroom. So um you know like people are are opening the taps and then there's water dripping everywhere and
16 minutes, 46 seconds
you know just um it gives us a bad reflection because they they'll say you know these Muslims are wasting water or
16 minutes, 53 seconds
they having a bath in the sink or something you know like you know any any excuse for for them to to say something
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bad and I think it's it's very important for us to you know like try and curb these things as much as possible.
17 minutes, 8 seconds
realize that not wasting is part of our Islamic teachings. So,
17 minutes, 14 seconds
and and and the thing is um you know like uh we could use like a bottle instead um like this person said uh what
17 minutes, 24 seconds
a jug um you know and and just um you know not not waste
17 minutes, 33 seconds
the the water because it's it's um you know it's it's one thing to to do da
17 minutes, 40 seconds
and go for jamaat and you know like speak to other people and brothers and spread Islam. But it's another thing actually showing people this is what
17 minutes, 48 seconds
Islam is. And if we show them that, you know, we are clean, we are um conscious of our environment, we consider it.
17 minutes, 58 seconds
Exactly. We um you know like we saving water,
18 minutes, 2 seconds
we're looking at these things, we don't litter, we we pick up after other people and and and we did during lockdown. I
18 minutes, 9 seconds
mean, alhamdulillah, there was such a a a brotherhood. they were sisterhood, you know, like everybody got together. That
18 minutes, 16 seconds
was the global ummah that we that we're talking about and everybody got together and they started feeding people and helping people and whatever in the
18 minutes, 24 seconds
community and people saw that and they want to know more about Islam you know and um I think it was the first
18 minutes, 32 seconds
time where nobody complained about being um you know going on at faj time because
18 minutes, 40 seconds
because they were getting because they were getting bread at the end of the day and we could actually hear the well we from where we are the way we are.
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But the thing is, you know, like what happened after that and why are we not continuing with that? And it's the same
18 minutes, 53 seconds
thing that I say every year that, you know, we we have this again global um during Ramadan. Um people are are are
19 minutes, 2 seconds
doing good work, charitable work, and people are changing their habits. And why does it stop just in Ramadan? Why
19 minutes, 10 seconds
can't we continue with that? And inshallah, we will. That's the dua that we make today that we'll continue those good acts from Ramadan from lockdown and
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show the rest of the world that this is what Islam is about.
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Exactly. So we don't just need to show it in our dressing. We need to show it in our actions as well. The way we come across, the way we do things.
19 minutes, 34 seconds
Yeah. Inshallah. Amen. Inshallah. Amen.
19 minutes, 38 seconds
So I think let's go for a break and uh when we get back we will hear from the founder of African Sea Divers Lorato
19 minutes, 46 seconds
Moana inshallah tutoring mentoring homeschool assistance concessions facilitation and more
19 minutes, 55 seconds
visit after grant academy the dawn of excellence
20 minutes, 5 seconds
and welcome back to level up. If you've just tuned in, we have been talking all about being eco-friendly
20 minutes, 13 seconds
and conserving our planet. I shared some of my tips to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Our listeners have as well. And
20 minutes, 23 seconds
if you would like to share some of your tips, our WhatsApp line is open. The number is 0727861548
20 minutes, 33 seconds
or you can call in on 011854722.
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Yes. And you can also DM us on u our Instagram page um personally at.com.
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That's I l a m.
20 minutes, 53 seconds
So right now let's hear from Lorato Moone, founder of African Sea Divers. As
21 minutes
the founder of African Sea Divers, his scuba diving journey began in 2009.
21 minutes, 8 seconds
At that time he was a young man who couldn't swim and had never been exposed to the ocean.
21 minutes, 15 seconds
Lorato was given the opportunity to start with a basic course learning how to breathe underwater and explore the depths of the ocean.
21 minutes, 26 seconds
That initial step was lifechanging and he has been deeply connected to the ocean ever since.
21 minutes, 35 seconds
African Sea Divers offers high quality scuba instruction ranging from entry-
21 minutes, 40 seconds
levelvel courses to instructor level training. They pride themselves on maintaining a standard of excellence and
21 minutes, 46 seconds
providing ex exceptional service to all their students. Welcome to the show, Lorato.
21 minutes, 54 seconds
Thank you very much. I really appreciate Lorato. Tell us about African Sea Divers and your role in the organization.
22 minutes, 2 seconds
Um African Sea Divers was launched back in um 2019. Um the aim of African sea divers was to introduce more and more
22 minutes, 11 seconds
people um to what activities um especially those who are inland because when you talk about scuba diving people think that you should be in a coast in
22 minutes, 20 seconds
order for you to learn how to scuba dive or to do scuba diving courses. So I actually brought it home here in Ptoria.
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Um so we train most of our divers here.
22 minutes, 29 seconds
Um we also not only doing diving, we also specialize in swimming lessons. Um we also do um basic first aid and then a bit of it is it's environmental safety.
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Um also um one of the scuba diving instructors at African sea divers.
22 minutes, 46 seconds
Okay. How many um instructors do you have?
22 minutes, 49 seconds
So but for in the meantime it's only me um but we also looking at expanding the business.
22 minutes, 55 seconds
Okay. And um how long have you been doing in in Ptoria? As I said, it's only since
23 minutes, 2 seconds
2019 and then I was based in Mozambique as a lead scuba diving instructor um since 2013.
23 minutes, 10 seconds
Okay. Yeah.
23 minutes, 11 seconds
Okay. So, you spend most of your time underwater. That's correct. Okay.
23 minutes, 17 seconds
Um and you see the effects of um the the sea pollution on the on the animals under underwater.
23 minutes, 27 seconds
what what in what experiences have you come into contact with?
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There's one particular experience that I actually wanted to share with you. It's we were coming from um a dive um we were
23 minutes, 39 seconds
out on a boat and then um something caught the corner of my eye from the back line and then um it seems to be a
23 minutes, 47 seconds
flotation device. Um we actually call it a buoy. It was quite bright in color. It was reddish. I actually told the boat
23 minutes, 56 seconds
driver, we we call them skippers, um to actually drive closer to the to an object. And upon getting closer to it,
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um I noticed that it's it's definitely a blue line with a line on it. I just couldn't see what was under the line because then it was plus minus let's say
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2 and 1/2 m. Um I then asked the skiper to stop. I put my mask and snuggle to investigate and I noticed it was a
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turtle um being hang onto this buoy. So um as we all know that turtles um mostly feeds on a rift. So in this situation it
24 minutes, 30 seconds
looked like the turtle couldn't feed. Um for how long I do not know. Um so um likely we dive with knives. Um I
24 minutes, 37 seconds
actually took one of my knives out and I asked the crew members to also jump into the water. And what was very magical about this turtle, it didn't resist or
24 minutes, 46 seconds
anything. It just lied still. We cut it free and then from there on the first thing it did it dived to the bottom of the reef. It started feeding and then that was the end of the story.
24 minutes, 56 seconds
Yeah. You were a hero there.
24 minutes, 58 seconds
Yeah. I actually got footage of this as well. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. That would be nice to see.
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Yeah, I've got the footage. It's on YouTube. Okay. Yeah.
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Sure. That's quite an experience. So, it was tangled in the in the boy or was it something else that had
25 minutes, 13 seconds
it? It was actually tangled on the on on on the on the rope of the buoy. So the buoy floats,
25 minutes, 20 seconds
it's tangled on a rope and then I think the more it tries to free itself, the more it got tangled and then it I think what that was very
25 minutes, 28 seconds
magical because what happened is if if it happened out the sea, we were not going to see it. So I think because of the waves
25 minutes, 36 seconds
it was actually just behind the back and I think if we didn't spot the turtle it was just going to wash out to the shoreline and then of
25 minutes, 45 seconds
course it wouldn't stay long enough out of the water. Yeah. Yeah. Uh whereabout was it? This was in onani in Mozambique. In Mozambique. Yes.
25 minutes, 53 seconds
Okay. So you travel to Mosmbique quite a I used to work there um since 2013 2012. Okay.
26 minutes, 1 second
um with your travels to to Mosmbique was there any uh places hidden gems that we should know about or
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uh something okay cool so that the hidden gems that I used to work in Mozambi not there but then um there's
26 minutes, 18 seconds
this particular story maybe we can chat about which happened here in Ptoria um there is a place actually in Nabum
26 minutes, 26 seconds
Sprite um in Limpopo and the farm's name is called Adan the game farm. Um what I've noticed when I was there is the the
26 minutes, 36 seconds
guys are actually doing recycling. So what they will recycle is mainly your glass cans and paper. But then what
26 minutes, 43 seconds
actually caught my attention is what we call earth farming. So because of they host a lot of conferences and and
26 minutes, 51 seconds
weddings and big large events um they will always have food scrapes. Okay. um when when the the party is finished
26 minutes, 59 seconds
and then what they will actually do is they will take the foods grapes and feed it to the worms. Okay. The worms will obviously eat those um the food and then
27 minutes, 8 seconds
from there on they will actually use the worm pool to create um a fertilizer because then they're in a very big farm
27 minutes, 15 seconds
and they've also got beds. So they're using that fertilizer to grow more more flowers and also to grow more trees. That's very interesting.
27 minutes, 24 seconds
Yeah.
27 minutes, 24 seconds
Okay. How can we educate or encourage South Africans to stop polluting our rivers, our seas, our oceans and just basically preserving and conserving the sea life?
27 minutes, 34 seconds
Okay, cool. Um, I would actually like to take that story a little bit back on how African sea divers came into existence.
27 minutes, 41 seconds
Um, I was back in one of the townships in Mameoi um just on the start of 2019.
27 minutes, 48 seconds
Um I was then sitting with friends and then we were eating out of these plastic containers and um after finishing off
27 minutes, 55 seconds
our food, one of my friends took that plastic container and he throw it on the street. I don't ask the person but why will you do something like that? And he
28 minutes, 4 seconds
actually mentioned that you know he's creating jobs because then the more people litter um there will be more people to come and pick up um that
28 minutes, 12 seconds
stuff. In my mind, I kind of knew that plastic takes plus minus 450 years for it to break down. And then by the time
28 minutes, 20 seconds
the workers come and pick up the waste um because we might have rain, we might have floods, we might have wind, that
28 minutes, 26 seconds
plastic won't be w it was it was last latered on. So um basically what I think
28 minutes, 34 seconds
should happen is is we should start of recycling project definitely in our local communities but then also we should stop or we should educate our
28 minutes, 42 seconds
people um to stop thinking that when you later you actually creating a job and that's the definitely wrong mindset to have
28 minutes, 50 seconds
talking about recycling projects um I don't know if you know recently they had international coastal cleanup day on the 18th of September Um, in your opinion,
29 minutes, 1 second
are these kinds of initiatives effective or are they more sustainable ways like you said recycling or anything else that
29 minutes, 9 seconds
you think would be more effective for us as South Africans to do?
29 minutes, 14 seconds
Um, I think what will be more effective when it comes to that is I feel as if you know when there's an international
29 minutes, 20 seconds
cleanup day, I feel as if people just um clean for that particular day and from there on nothing happens. So what I
29 minutes, 30 seconds
definitely think should people should do is we should try to conserve our water.
29 minutes, 34 seconds
Um we should also try to reuse our water and also try to you know instead of plastic we should rather use um paper
29 minutes, 42 seconds
bags and then we should also limit um the use of chemical use that can work itself to the ocean. Okay.
29 minutes, 50 seconds
African sea divers teaches people to swim and also scuba dive. Why are these skills important to learn? According to
29 minutes, 58 seconds
the stats um it's based on the 2020 stats there's over 600 kids that drown
30 minutes, 5 seconds
every year in South Africa and most of your drownings as you know is between Katn and Ken okay so basically what's
30 minutes, 15 seconds
happening is um by teaching people how to swim we will automatically eliminate or reduce the unnecessary drownings that
30 minutes, 22 seconds
we have here in land um according to me I actually think swimming should have been compulsory sport especially at
30 minutes, 29 seconds
primary school. When it comes to scuba diving, I I was actually one of um the people that used to litter up up until I
30 minutes, 37 seconds
was introduced to scuba diving. I then noticed that we are not only learning on how to breathe underwater, but then we are learning on how to respect and protect our oceans.
30 minutes, 48 seconds
You've started to add swimming lessons as well. Why did you decide on that?
30 minutes, 53 seconds
There is a a very huge gap um when it comes to swimming in South Africa. My first thought when I started African Sea
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Divers was to obviously teach people how to scuba dive. But then I started realizing that the people that I wanted to teach scuba dive, they were not very
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familiar with the water. So I had to now break the business down. So what we actually do is we actually teach the people how to swim first and once they
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are familiar in the water we then take we take the the courses a little bit further into scuba diving.
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Okay. Where about um here in Victoria do you go to um to scuba dive?
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So basically if you're looking into how there's over 29 municipality swimming pools. Um the swimming pool that I use
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um mostly is the one in Brooklyn called the Yong swimming pool. And then therefore there is two uh dams. So one
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is in JC we call it best lake and the other one which I use a lot h it's called miracle waters in bra just outside Victoria and that's where we do our qualifying dives.
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Okay. And how far underwater do you take there?
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It depends on your qualification. Um the the recreational limit for scuba divers is 40 m. So um the first course that
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you'll do it's called depends you can either do the discover scuba course which is a once off thing and that will only allow you to go to a depth of 12 m
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and then if you require a license um you will then do your open water course and that will limit you to 18 m of depth.
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Okay, Lorato. Um, in the African culture, there's this fear of swimming and we've just grown up um being afraid
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of getting into the water because there's either sea serpents or there's something strange and mysterious in the
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water. How do you overcome this to get um the people swimming? So basically to
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to refer to the question I I I call it um the lack of knowing um as easy as that. So basically what
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what happens is we we meant um to believe that the things in the water that will catch us and bite us and we
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swim we can't go back. Now um I I refer to it as the lack of not knowing. So I I feel as if the right information is not
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reaching the people. Um so people like us, we want to go out there and educate people and tell them there is no such
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things in the water. Um you need to learn to swim the right way. Therefore, you'll be safe in the water.
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Is scuba diving really an expensive sport?
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Scuba diving, it's expensive, yes, but then it's a doable sport. So we are trying to make it less expensive for for
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our our participants. Um so how do we reduce the cost is that we rent out gear um so that lot and lot of people can
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enroll of our courses that way then works out bit cheaper um we don't want our people to go buy the gear because then that's where um scuba diving tends
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to get a little bit expensive we actually provide you the gear during your training sessions
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are there any initiatives or projects that African sea divers is involved in or any things that's close to your heart
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that you might know about that you want other people to know about.
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So when it comes to that question um we as African sea divers we have not done
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any initi initiatives here in land but there used to be a guy back in Mozambique that I used to work very
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close with his name is Ronaldo. Um what Ronaldo did is he saw that um most of our beaches were very um dirty. So he
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then started um a project with a local school where he will take kids and then they will um take 2 liter bottles okay
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and they will then fill those 2 liter bottles with microl plastics because then he actually didn't want that plastic to go back into the ocean. Now
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his idea was quite amazing. So what he will then do, he will tell kids to get this bottle, okay, this 2 liter coke
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bottle to a certain weight, okay, we actually call them eco bricks. Um, so what he will then do is he will then let
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the kids hand in the eco bricks and then in return he will then give them stationary. So the kids because of you know understand in in a place like
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Muzzanek, it's a very disadvantaged community where I used to work. So the kids value stationary and it was not
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only stationary he also used to give clothes for that. So in that he he he he created the thing whereby kids will then
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go to the to the coastal area and they will pick up this plastics um as part of um education awareness around plastic as
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well. And then um he's when I last spoke of him he told me that he's not gathered enough eco bricks but then the aim here
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is was for him to go and build the school using those eco bricks. Oh wow. Yeah. Okay.
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Tell me Lorato, how does one get in touch with African Sea Divers?
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So we are on um our website is ww.africanscivers.com.
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You can also find us under all social medias under African Sea Divers. Okay. Thank you very much for the chat. It's a pleasure. Thank you.
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Thanks.
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Alhamdulillah. What an interesting conversation.
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While on the topic of swimming, did you know that swimming can reduce stress,
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anxiety, and depression? The rhythmic movements and calming environment of the
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water can promote relaxation and improve your mood. Oh, alhamdulillah. I didn't know that.
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I should really learn how to swim then. Okay.
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So, um I think everyone's going to go to the coast for holidays or to a place where there's a swimming pool.
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Well, he said there's so many mun municipal pools. I didn't even know.
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I actually wanted to check on that. Um he said there's about what 41 39 or something.
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Oh, sorry. 39 mun municipal swimming pools in Is that Pritoria alone?
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Well, I don't know. I think he I wonder if that's true. I I was supposed to check that. But um yeah, that's that's very interesting.
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Yeah, because you think if you don't go if you don't have a pool at home or you don't complex or you don't go to the gym or then there's nowhere for you to swim.
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That's true.
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I didn't know that they are still functional. I also didn't know that I that is something we have to check
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and um yes I I have to learn how to swim also because it reduces stress anxiety and depression but it's very interesting
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it's just the the the water you know the calming effect I think looking at it besides getting into it I know looking at the sea yes does have
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a calming effect but now we have to um drive how many hours to go get to the sea
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the closest sea is uh Uh from us 6 hours 6 hours is the closest sea. Yeah.
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Um um so you say you had something that you wanted to say.
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Uh oh yes. So I have this little uh London bus. Mhm.
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And it says buses are getting greener. Uh reduce
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exhaust emission thanks to cleaner fuel. Okay. Okay, that's interesting.
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I think that's another topic that we Yeah, that's a can of worms that you you're going to open up and try and speak about. So, I think on another
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topic, we have way too many that we need to speak about.
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I think it's good because we're starting the conversation. You know, we said we'll start and we'll build from it inshallah. And and we actually received
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a message now on WhatsApp and Nia, let me just send it to you and then Oh, is it from a sister? You want me to read it? Yeah.
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Okay. Okay. Uh, okay.
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Assalamu alaykum. I am from Cape Town and an avid gardener. In Cape Town, we only get winter rainfall, but in summer,
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we have a very dry spell.
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When I do washing, I catch the final cycles water and use it for my garden.
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Also, when planting trees, place a pipe next to the root of the tree so that the top of the pipe sticks out above the ground. Then, when you water the garden,
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you only have to throw water into the pipe, reaching the root instantly,
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thereby saving water that would be wasted in trying to reach the root of the trees. Shukran, so much for this information, informative program, Afwan.
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Uh yes, it is a regular program on radio Islam every Sundays inshallah from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Shukran. Um tell our
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listener for that. That that was very interesting.
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I'm fascinated by this. Um I think that's such a Should I repeat that part so you can get it? Place a pipe next when planting
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trees, place a pipe next to the root of the tree so that the top of the pipe sticks out above the ground. Then when
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you watered the garden, you only have to throw water into the pipe, reaching the root instantly, thereby saving. So you don't have to go around your whole is
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that basically what I'm I'm getting from this. You don't have to go around your whole garden to um pour. You just need to um but also you don't have to pour a lot
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because the water goes straight and I suppose it would work if there's rainfall as well. The water would go into this pipe and go straight down to the root.
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But you said here in in in Cape Town,
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they only get winter rainfall. they don't get summer. It's a dry spell. I'm so sorry.
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Yeah, but what what but it's it's still a very good idea. And I think um you know when we were doing landscaping, we
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tried to move away from um you know like trees that took a lot of what we used succulents basically so that we could and we put a lot of rock
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so that we keep the the area damp and you know those type of things. But I've never heard this before and I think it's
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it's quite a that is very interesting. able to never heard of it. Yeah. Alhamdulillah and Shukran for sending that tip in.
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There is something I I also received.
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It's also from a sister. So I'm going to read it. Um someone sent in a water saving tip in terms of woodoo. So um she
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says in terms of woodoo the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam used to only use one mud mud d when performing woodoo and that is equal to about 0.67 67 L.
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That's interesting. So, um 0.67 L that's like 600 ml
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milliliters or less to make woo which is exactly what we were talking about like the jug or the bottle. So if
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you get I think if you get like a a one liter bottle and then maybe um like mark it you know
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at 670 and try and use that that amount of um 67 and then try and use that amount of water.
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Um and then obviously if you if you can make with properly obviously you know like yes you have to make sure that you do do it properly. You make sure that you know
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the parts that need to be wet is wet but using as little water as possible.
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No, but if you can do that then you can challenge yourself to use less water and less.
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Okay. Not like I mean maybe like 500 ms or something but um you could get to that that point but it it could be a challenge.
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Yeah.
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You know especially for the you could play with your kids um you know have this type of challenge with them. Start with a one liter bottle, full one liter bottle, then move it down slowly.
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Instead of opening the tap wide, then use it into pour it rather into a jug or bottle like you said and then use it like that. And that way just challenge
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each of your family members to try and use less which is very good. Um as you this is very interesting. Um whenever I
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you know when the the kids learn um uh Madressa Islamic studies and they always mention uh mud I always thought it was mud as in you know mud mud.
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Oh right. Yeah.
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So I never um knew this as a what is it called the standard of measurement right? M UD mud.
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Okay. So yeah, alhamdulillah. Um, once again, if any of our dear listeners have any eco-friendly tips or even products
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that they would like to eco-friendly products that they would like to share with us during the week, you can do so on
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on our social media pages at all the all the social media pages. Send us all of them at iOS.com.
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That's Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tik Tok as well as threads.
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And I think it's um alhamdulillah, like I said, we started this conversation. It was very interesting. Um I really enjoyed speaking to Lorato from Sea Divers. I learned quite a lot from him.
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um not only in terms of um you know pollution but also in terms of you know
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like the swimming and the scuba diving and stuff the ocean sports and we're getting to that summer months now where people are going to be looking at you
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know like water sports and stuff and I mean I think that's such a such a good idea that you know it's an so-called expensive sport scuba diving and if you
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can rent the gear um and still do it because it's it's such a wonderful full experience. I've seen I've never done it, but I've seen
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videos of people going under and, you know, like exploring that cuz I love the sea. Yeah. I love to explore everywhere
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and to go, you know, under the sea and see and I'll be a bit scared because, you know, it's unknown. Yes.
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Uh like like we spoke about, but um you know, just to experience it and Yeah.
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know for all our listeners who have sent in messages today. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.
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Yes. So, um we love your tips on on how not to waste water w or not to waste anything because you know we shouldn't
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be wasting anything but also especially water. Um oh I I read a hadith that I'd like to just share before we close. Um
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prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam said do not waste water even if you are if you are on the banks of a flowing river.
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Subhan Allah. Subhan Allah. So again, moderation.
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Yes. Exactly. So that's basically saying, you know, if your bank's from the flowing river, which means you have abundant of water, don't waste it. So there's so much of importance on not
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wasting water or not wasting anything. It's um such a precious resource. But yeah, we have a
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lot more to discuss over the next few weeks. Inshallah to brother Zad behind the scenes there
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and all our listeners for joining in us this afternoon and sending in your tips
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and um yes stay eco-friendly inshallah I mean join us every Sunday inshallah a mean from 2 to 3:00 p.m. right here on Radio Islam International. From myself,
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Nabiha from Zad and from Isa. Enjoy your Sunday and we wish you a wonderful week ahead inshallah.
