SAYBN would like to express our networks’ deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Comfort Shai, who passed away on Tuesday the 3rd of December, following a car accident.
Comfort voluntarily took leadership responsibility, planning and executing youth events, without expecting no compensation in return. That is how we will remember him, a selfless leader who gave all and expected nothing back. He first learnt of the network in August 2018, and since then, became part and parcel of delivering youth events on biodiversity policies.
For the part three months, SAYBN has been hosting provincial youth consultation meetings. He co-planned and co-facilitated events in Mpumalanga (Acornhoek) and Limpopo (Thohoyandou). He was due to facilitate the event in Free State just next week. At the time of his death, Comfort was still planning youth events. On Monday the 2nd of December, along other colleagues, we had a meeting with him for an event he had proposed and one we are committed to host in his memory next year. In his capacity as the chairperson of People and Parks Youth in Mpumalanga, we were collaborating to host a 3-day event on environmental governance. Among other things, this event was going to teach young people about biodiversity and conservation, unlocking economic opportunities in the sector, and the following 2 days would be dedicated to developing a strategic plan or plan of action for the People and Parks Youth Mpumalanga province. This was not just cheap talk, it was a plan in progress, as he had already secured some resources and partnerships for it.
He was an operational person, who acted on his ideas without excuses. Who didn’t only complain, but suggested solutions for things that mattered to him. He was always ready to teach and to be taught. He believed in young people not only being recipients of programmes or schemes, but actively creating opportunities for themselves, conserving biodiversity and benefiting economically from the sector. His contribution to society went beyond biodiversity and conservation, as evident in his professional life as a school teacher, his involvement in Casteel Youth Forum, his involvement in Radio Bushbuckridge and other spaces he occupied.
His loss is a loss not only to his community, but to South Africa at large. We are deeply indebted to him and will keep his memory alive as a leader who continuously contributed, financially and otherwise, in supporting biodiversity conservation in South Africa and advocated for the inclusion of young people in the value chain of this sector.
Rest in Peace Comfort
