Dear World Oceans, 

To us, you are perfect. You are our lifeline. 

You regulate the world's climate by distributing heat from the sun through your currents. We know that global warming is a serious threat to your whole marine ecosystem and we are sorry that we are endangering your wellbeing through pollution, overfishing and global warming. 

Without you, we would not be able to breathe. You give us 50% of the world's oxygen, possibly even more. We should spend more time protecting you. 

You provide a home to more than a million different creatures of all sizes, colours and shapes, many of them we have not even met yet. Keep them hidden away, they are probably safer without us.

You connect the world through your waterways. You allow us to transport goods from one part of the world to the other. We are sorry that some people's negligence causes pollution and oil spills, we should treat you better.   

You give us nutrition and you create jobs. People all over the world survive because you provide us with food and plants, and many people found employment in the fishing or recreational industry. We really wish people would respect your boundaries and stick to sustainable practices.  

Everybody loves the World Oceans, we cannot get enough of you. We would not even be here without you.

You do everything for us. 

We know we have not looked after you very well. We can see you are hurting. The sea level is rising because of human induced climate change. We drill holes into your ground to exploit your resources even more. We take all your fish, and kill countless other animals and plants in the process. We treat you like a rubbish bin. We do not even respect the marine protected areas we created ourselves. 

But we hear you. You have always been forgiving. We know we have crossed the line. We hear your silent screams for help. We know your powerful ecosystem will collapse if we do not change our ways. 

We are here to help you. We are proud to be part of the global movement of climate change activists and conservationists, and we are so grateful to see the growing support for our humble work in a remote desert country somewhere in Africa. 

Today is your day, World Oceans Day. For us, every day is World Oceans Day, and we will fight for you. We need you, please forgive us one more time, and we promise to be better. Not tomorrow, starting today. 

Katja & Naude & the OCN Team