A moving celebration without words

BY VERNON DAVIDSON

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

LONDON, England — Miss Jamaica Toni-Ann Singh (centre) celebrates winning the Miss World Final 2019 at the ExCeL arena in east London on December 14 with her mother Jahrine Bailey and father Bradshaw.

The photographs said it all.

The warm embrace and the emotions on the faces of Toni-Ann Singh and her mother Jahrine Bailey explained to the world why the new Miss World told pageant interviewer Piers Morgan that her mother was the woman who inspired her most, shedding a tear in the process.

In the aftermath of the onstage celebrations that greeted Singh's coronation as Miss World 2019 last Saturday inside the ExCeL arena in London, she shared a moving hug with her mother and father, Bradshaw Singh.

Asked what they said to each other in that moment, the new Miss World said: “You know, we kind of didn't say words. We kept looking at each other, and there was an unspoken understanding of my gratefulness. I could see that they were proud, and that's something that makes me happy, because I am the product of all of their efforts; they've been working so hard to give me this chance.”

The 23-year-old told the Jamaica Observer in a phone interview yesterday that her mother, in particular, made immense sacrifices for her.

“I've had the opportunity of going to a private high school in America. I got flute and violin classes, I did ballet, and this was because when I showed interest in something my mom did everything that she could,” she explained.

“It's not that we had all we needed, but if I said that I wanted to play the violin she found a way to source a violin. When I said I wanted to learn the flute, she found a way... even if she didn't get to buy things for herself or focus on the things that she wanted,” Singh added.

She recalled how her mother would take her to practice sessions and wait until each class was over. “She made sure that whatever dream I had was possible. The biggest thing is, you never know the sacrifices that parents make, so if I am aware of that, I can imagine the amount of things she has gone without that I never even realised,” Singh told the Observer.

Her mother, she said, works in human resources, while her father, who lives in England, is a teacher.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/article/20191217/ARTICLE/191219747