The 21 year old Morné Franco Van Der Westhuizen is currently the youngest Commercial Diver in Mpumalanga.
As a diver, his job is to save people’s lives from the water.
Having grown up in Secunda where he attended his primary and secondary schooling, Morné fell in love with diving at a very young age and the first thing that came to his mind after matric was to register for a commercial diving course.
After completing his diving course he was given the opportunity to work for Delta Diving, of which he is still currently working for.
When asked how he feels after rescuing a body from the water, Morné said he feels ok since is not afraid, but what makes him sad is to see the families of the deceased people crying.
“I always feel sorry for them because if it was my family I would feel the same.
“Another problem is the smell of the decayed bodies, especially if they were inside the water for a long time,” said Morné.
Currently on his cards was to start campaigns, especially in schools where he can educate young people about the danger of swimming in quarries and also teach them how to swim.
According to Morné, he would love to open a diving school in Secunda, but will need assistance of the government and the private companies to realize his dream.
The school will help to equip young people to learn more about different diving careers available.
Currently there is a shortage of divers and as such they sometimes get callout to places like Elukwatini, Grootvlei and as far as in Limpopo.
Within Govan Mbeki Municipality there are only four divers available.
