 Omari Nyange was born in
1964 on Pemba Island, Zanzibar. He finished secondary school there and then moved to the
main island of Zanzibar to find work. He worked as a fisherman in Bububu village for 4
years and became very good at fishing. But he was also always very interested in learning
about the marine and reef environment and how it supported fishermen. Therefore, when some
government people came to his village to look for good fishermen to invite on a course at
the Mbegani Fisheries Development Centre in Bagamoyo,Tanzania, he took the opportunity to
take a course there. He always wanted to be a teacher and thought that more education and
information should be available to fishermen about the marine and coral environment. Omari joined the Chumbe Island Coral Park Project in 1993 together with four other fishermen to become a Marine Park Ranger and worked with many volunteer marine biologists and researchers who trained him on marine ecology, reef monitoring, visitor guidance skills, English language, etc. He is now the Head Ranger coordinating four rangers who work on Chumbe island in two-week-long shifts. They patrol the island, communicate with fishermen and are proud to take visitors around the many marine and forest nature trails. One big attraction is every night to spot the huge nocturnal Coconut crabs, the largest land crab on Earth, and very spectacular when climbing trees! Omari has a wife and 5 children (4 of which are girls), whom he would also like to learn about the marine environment they live in and depend on. OMARI'S HOST HELPERS: Since Omari doesn't have e-mail access himself, and is usually out on the island away from the office, the two ladies who manage the Chumbe Island operation, Sibylle and Eleanor, are being designated as Omari's Host Helpers. When you are provided with an e-mail address with which to arrange your visit, probably you will be communicating with Sibylle. If you want to communicate with Omari directly, it is possible by having messages relayed, but it may take a while. Omari conducts our week on Chumbe Island & in an Eco-Bungalow tour. |