February 2017

Pez Maya

The Amigos de Sian Kaan Learn to Dive at Pez Maya

Objective

To strengthen our partnership with our main partners in Marine Conservation in Mexico,
Amigos de Sian Kaan, by introducing our daily life and training standards to some of their
staff.
To immerse them in the wonders and majesty of the underwater world and PADI, thus aiming
to inspire other Amigos de Sian Kaan to venture to Pez Maya and take part in both PADI
Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses in the future.

Summary

At Pez Maya, it is no secret that the majority of the marine conservation work that we carry
out would not be possible without the help of the Amigos de Sian Kaan and the amazing
support that they offer our particular GVI hub. Therefore, we wanted to give back to this
organization that has given so much to us. Going off of the GVI Core Values of family and
inspiration, we took it upon ourselves to invite two members of the Amigos de Sian Kaan
family to stay on base and receive their PADI open water certifications, inspiring them to
keep learning, returning, and making a difference.

Report

Global Partnerships are the heart of GVIs primary objectives & demonstrated across the GVI
World. This term hones in on various facets of the work we do here at Pez Maya with one of
our global partners, the Amigos de Sian Kaan (find out more about their work at
http://www.amigosdesiankaan.org/en//). Starting on the week of February 6th, staff mem-
bers from Pez Maya travelled to the illustrious Playa del Carmen to meet up with two mem-
bers of the Amigos de Sian Kaan, Alejandro and Jethro. After the heartwarming and friend-
ship building introductions, the team went to a nearby pool to immediately begin their PADI
Open Water Diver Course, starting with practical skill development.

After practical assessment and knowledge development in the pool, the students and
Instructor alike returned back to Pez Maya to continue the course. For those whom are
unaware, the second portion of the Open Water Course entails practical assessment carrying
on from the confined water sessions into the ocean itself. Needless to say, Jethro and
Alejandro were ecstatic, ready and raring to go and progress with their training. Despite
tumultuous and rocking seas, the smiles never left their faces during it all, and the passion
and enthusiasm they demonstrated was strewn throughout the psyche of those at Pez Maya.

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Figure 1 Jethro and Alejandro celebrate with Instructor Elizabeth and Community Officer Hector after successfully com-
pleting their PADI Open Water Course

The two days that these individuals spent on base were eye opening, awe inspiring, and
heavily beneficial for our staff members and volunteers. Not only did we get to meet mem-
bers of one of our global partners and learn about everything that they do for our benefit
and that of others, but we also took part in cross-cultural education simply from interacting
with these two individuals who came from entirely different backgrounds in comparison to
many of us. One of the resoundingly beautiful sides of life at Pez Maya can be seen in the
form of the diversity of our volunteers and the innumerable differences they bring to the
table, which was further solidified when Alejandro and Jethro became part of the group.
They did not miss a beat, they helped with duties, they laughed and shared memories past
with volunteers, and most importantly, after various trials and tribulations, they received
their PADI Open Water certifications.

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Figure 2 Jethro and Alejandro returning from a successful dive.

It was clear to see that in the views of everyone at Pez Maya, this week-long interaction
was extremely beneficial. We here at GVI hope that this is the first of many PADI courses
that members of the Amigos de Sian Kaan take part in at Pez Maya, and we look forward to
only further strengthening global partnerships with this organization and others similar to
it.

For more information on the projects here in Mexico, visit:

http://www.gvi.co.uk/location/yucatan/

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