Every so often this world is blessed with individuals who don’t just exist — they live life in a manner designed to make change that redounds to the benefit of mankind.

Mr Harold George Bellanfanti Jr, better known to us as Harry Belafonte, who died yesterday at the age of 96, was one such individual.

Born in Harlem, New York, on March 1, 1927 to a Jamaican mother and a father from the French Caribbean territory of Martinique, Mr Belafonte spent part of his childhood in Jamaica with his grandmother before returning to New York. This binational upbringing, we are told, shaped his musical and political outlooks that eventually moulded him into an unshrinking humanitarian whose campaign for social justice transcended the borders of the United States.

We recall well his deep personal involvement in the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, during which he formed a very tight bond with Dr Martin Luther King Jr, as well as his advocacy of racial equality in apartheid South Africa. Add to that his efforts to address famine in Ethiopia — the most memorable act being his bringing together, in 1985, some of the world’s biggest musical stars to record the song We Are The World, which raised millions of dollars for famine victims.

Yesterday, we were reminded of a quote from a speech he delivered at Emory University in 2004 which defined his character: “When people think of activism they always think some sacrifice is involved, but I’ve always considered it a privilege and an opportunity.”

People who knew Mr Belafonte, or who followed his life story, would not have been surprised by that statement. For he utilised the platform and fame provided by his talent as a recording artiste and film actor to highlight and combat social injustice and racism.

Indeed, the story is told that he scoffed at suggestions that his signature Day-O song, also known as The Banana Boat Song, was just feel-good dance music. Instead, he insisted that it was a rebellious take on workers who were demanding better working conditions.

It was not surprising, therefore, that in 1987 the United Nations Children’s Fund appointed Mr Belafonte a goodwill ambassador. He immersed himself in the role, travelling to Senegal, where he chaired the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. Additionally, in 1994 he went to Rwanda and launched a media campaign that drew attention to the plight of that nation’s children.

We also recall Mr Belafonte going to South Africa in 2001 to give support to the campaign against HIV/AIDS. The following year, in recognition of his efforts to help Africa, Mr Belafonte was presented with the Bishop John T Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award by Africare, a non-profit organisation in Washington, DC, which provides development aid for Africa.

Mr Belafonte’s helping hand touched the disenfranchised globally, and as one writer so succinctly put it yesterday, “even at the height of his fame as a ground-breaking musician, Harry Belafonte was only interested in the money or the celebrity insofar as it could fuel his campaigns for social justice”.

The world has indeed lost a great citizen in the passing of Mr Harry Belafonte — a man who, after rising to eminence by merit, lived respected and died regretted.