Unity key to moving Jamaica forward, says Miss World’s dad
BRADSHAW SINGH, father of Miss World Toni-Ann Singh, is disappointed with what he perceives to be a high level of disunity among Jamaican leaders, including parliamentarians, and hopes policymakers will take a page out of his daughter’s book and help to promote peace.
Bradshaw, a former educator, recalls being seconded from the Ministry of Education several years ago to help implement a peace project in several innercity communities in Kingston and St Andrew, Spanish Town, and Montego Bay in collaboration with Peace and Love in Society (PALS).
“Our responsibility was to carry out an extensive programme in the community. We delivered a curriculum and that was to create an awareness among the parents and the wider community about the way they could instil peace in their children and also in the wider community,” said Bradshaw, who served as the principal of the Barking Lodge Primary School in Bath, St Thomas, for two decades.
PALS General Manager Janilee Abrikian said Singh’s work in some of Kingston’s toughest garrisons led to residents dubbing him the ‘Peace Man’.
A true personification of the word peace, Abrikian said Singh would walk through Hannah Town and other communities to get to know the people, build trust, and educate residents about PALS’s programmes.
“He really personified what they called him, everything about peace. He was calm, positive, and never talked down to people. He respected everybody, and he earned their respect. In those communities, it is not easy for a stranger to bond with and integrate into the community, and he was always safe there, unless something big was happening in the community,” Abrikian said.
Hailing the project as a success, Singh now wants to see even greater collaboration among stakeholders to curb crime and violence.
“The lawmaking institution of Jamaica is not united; the Parliament is not united. Until the Parliament is united, there is no peace in Jamaica,” he lamented.
“It needs the collaboration of every stakeholder in the community, and you must be committed to that cause, so you cannot be saying peace, and at the same time, you are indirectly or directly supporting war,” he said.
He noted that his daughter, Toni-Ann, is from a family that is defined by peace and community involvement.
While admitting to not knowing much about Singh’s family life, Abrikian said that she felt he definitely imparted his usual positive outlook on life and his hope for a better Jamaica to Toni-Ann.
“You have to really care about your country to do this kind of work because it never pays well. You have to believe that communities can change and that there is virtue in peace. He worked in high-risk communities, so technically, and literally, his life was at risk,” she said.
“Toni-Ann is committed to a lot of things, including global unity, global empowerment, and she has a sincere passion for Jamaica,” said the proud father with a tinge of admiration in his voice.
“Toni-Ann defines the Jamaican motto, ‘Out of Many, One People’,” Singh said. “If you look at ToniAnn, you don’t see an African girl, you don’t see an Indian girl, you don’t see a white girl, you don’t see a Japanese. You see a girl that embodies all those different races,” he said.