Nikaya Govender had been with the SABONET project since July 1998, when she was appointed as the SABONET Research Officer at the Natal Herbarium, Durban. She impressed all with her particularly effective working capacity and leadership characteristics. Not only did the SABONET Project recognize the quality of her work and leadership, but she was also rated as one of the top young researchers at the National Botanical Institute by involving her in the institution’s Leadership Academy Programme.
Sadly, Nikaya had to leave us—she moved with her husband to London to pursue, we hope, more botanical endeavours. We are sure that she will rise to this adventurous challenge with all the inspiration and commitment she has shown as a member of SABONET.
Nikaya
is extremely competent with computers and was in charge of the Natal Herbarium’s
Specimen Database. She attended a SABONET Advanced Database Management Course
in August 1999 and was invited as a demonstrator to the PRECIS Database Course
for Beginners in December 2000. She also attended a SABONET Herbarium Management
Course and a Plant Identification Course. In addition, she took part in the
Project’s Regional Botanical Expedition to southern Mozambique in 2001.
Nikaya
was committed to SABONET’s objectives, and published several articles in SABONET
News on selected plants of southern Africa and related herbarium and database
activities. She was also a mentor to the new SABONET staff at the Natal Herbarium
and motivated them to excel in their work and to publish on relevant topics.
She also represented SABONET and the National Botanical Institute at several
institutional meetings and academic conferences.
As
a person, Nikaya impressed us with her strong motivation to succeed in whatever
task she embarks on. She really made a difference and will leave her mark
on the project. Thanks for your dedication and hard work, Nikaya! We wish
you the best of luck.
—by Stefan Siebert & Rose Williams
