Family makes the world go round
Sasha-Gaye Belnavis attributes her success to her support system
TWENTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD SASHA-GAYE Belnavis is not your average woman – simply because her personality, which is larger than life, wanes in comparison to her heart, filled with love and compassion for people.
An accomplished professional, community leader, and altruist, the drama and theatre arts teacher at Claude McKay High School in Clarendon says everything she does is fuelled by the support of her family and the values instilled in her from an early age.
“Family is the most important thing to me and is my strongest support system. To this day, I am not comfortable being alone, simply because we are extremely closely knit. There are moments when we do have our disagreements, but that doesn’t hinder us from staying connected. Of all my siblings, I can be considered the most outspoken and dramatic one, and I can happily say that in whatever I do, I always have their full support,” she said.
Belnavis went into the field of arts and drama after making an unexpected turn from business after playing an integral role in her family’s grocery business. She came into her own at the Claude McKay High School, where she pursued secondary education, and later at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.
COMFORT ZONE
She said: “From a tender age, the stage has been my biggest comfort zone. My experiences with performing started with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) school competitions, where I copped several national awards in the area of Jamaican storytelling.”
She said her parents never got the opportunity to pursue all levels of education but made it a necessity for her and her five siblings.
“My parents epitomise the true meaning of determination and warrior spirit. Because of financial struggles, my mother did not have the opportunity to complete her education, but she ensured that we made use of every educational opportunity that presented itself. Though my mother does not hold a degree on paper, she holds a PhD in child-rearing and development, and she goes above and beyond just to ensure that we achieve to the highest level. My mother is my biggest cheerleader. I wonder if there is anything in the world that she wouldn’t do or give to me.”
Belnavis fondly remembers a time when her father travelled all the way to Westmoreland to get her a book for school.
“In fifth form, our English literature teacher told us that each of us must have a text called Fences, but nowhere in Clarendon, Kingston, or Manchester had it. My dad made a call to one of his friends in Westmoreland, and he was told that it could be sourced at a bookshop there. The following day, my dad left home before the break of day and headed to Westmoreland just to ensure that I owned a copy of the text. Today, I am grateful to God for blessing me with the best parents in the whole world. I am forever indebted to them.”
PASSIONATE ABOUT NATION-BUILDING
The educator, who recently completed a master’s degree in special education at Walden University, said she is passionate about nation-building and giving to others as she has received much from her own family.
“I am a very patriotic individual, and so I always play my part in community and nation-building. I am a lover of volunteerism, and I live for helping others, especially the shut-in and vulnerable. I am thankful to the Almighty, who is forever the head of my life, and through God’s guidance and protection, I have seen my life transition from being a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.”
It is for those reasons that Belnavis was Miss Clarendon Festival Queen 2015; received the Governor-General’s Award for Youth Excellence in the parish of Clarendon for significant achievement and leadership in 2016; for four consecutive years (2015-2019) was awarded by JCDC for being the best speech tutor for Clarendon; was the recipient of the JCDC Blue Diamond Award for the central area in 2018; was pinned by the Governor-General as an ‘I Believe Ambassador’; and, in 2019, received the Prime Minister’s Youth Award in the category of nation-building.
“As an active community member, I ensure that I get myself involved in all aspects of community development, simply because I know that regardless of the social ills that are affecting our nation, we have what it takes to make Jamaica ‘nice again’. I would never trade my rural community for any other. I believe in my community, and numerous times, I have seen the great impact we can have when we all play our roles.”
She added, “If my life is spared, and with the help of God, for the academic year 2020-2021, I will start another course of study for a PhD in administration and leadership. I must share that though I am in my current career, my true passion lies in representational politics….”
Belnavis says that although she knows that giving selflessly requires much work, she is up for the task.