The 22nd June 2013 was a very special day for all of us at Downbelow - that day we hosted more than 50 kids from the local orphanage for a day of fun and learning.

The whole Downbelow team from our island base gave their full support as we treated the kids to a snorkelling session and also taught them the value of conservation.

The day started with a brief presentation by our resident PADI Course Director Richard Swann who shared the importance of corals to the marine ecosystem and how all of us can help to preserve them.

After the presentation, the kids together with the Downbelow team did some beach clean-up as rubbish is also a threat to the corals. Then Richard demonstrated how damaged and broken but healthy corals are re-planted on some concrete blocks which will be placed in the ocean to help them grow.

To wrap things off, they are then given the chance to go for a snorkelling session where they were able to see how beautiful live corals are in their natural habitat.

We hope it will be something that they will cherish for a long time and that the conservation message impacted them in a positive way.

For our team, it was a wonderful experience to bring joy and cheer to these kids while teaching them something that they probably will not get in school. We are hopeful we can do this again with kids from other orphanage home.