Blessing Neya’s totem animal is the elephant, reflecting her deep admiration for these majestic creatures and the many qualities she shares with them, including resilience, strength, and strong social bonds.

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She hails from Hurungwe District in Zimbabwe and joined the Akashinga Programme in January 2021 as the Community Supervisor, a position she maintained for five years.

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Blessing currently serves as a Community Development Manager, where she leads and oversees community-focused initiatives that strengthen relationships between conservation programmes and local communities. In her role, she manages a team of eight Community Guardians who serve as one of the first layers of proactive collaboration between Akashinga and local communities. Their work supports proactive engagement to safeguard both livelihoods and wildlife, contributing to sustainable conservation outcomes.

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Blessing’s work primarily focuses on addressing human–wildlife conflict and promoting coexistence strategies, as well as overseeing community development issues to ensure that communities derive meaningful benefits from coexisting with wildlife, fostering a shift in perception from viewing wildlife as a threat to recognising it as a partner in sustaining livelihoods and ecosystems.

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Through her leadership, Blessing continues to amplify community voices and advocate for inclusive, community-driven conservation approaches. She is currently pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation to further strengthen her capacity to design, implement, and assess impactful community and conservation programmes. She remains passionate about community-led conservation, environmental education, and empowering frontline workers.