#Jamaica – January 16, 2019 — Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2019, Khamara Wright, has embarked on a project, dubbed ‘Nourish and Flourish’, which is focused on facilitating high-school students with healthy meals.
Key among the initiative’s
objectives are encouraging creative cooking lessons; fostering and heightening
awareness of the need for healthy living and eating practices; and showcasing the
versatility of Jamaican foods, while promoting what she describes as the
“Jamaican culinary heritage”.
“What we eat impacts our performance
and our well-being, hence that project is geared towards educating persons
about preparing such meals, going into the schools and speaking to the relevant
persons, so that we can prepare those meals for the children and they can be
educated on how to prepare the meals for themselves,” Miss Wright tells JIS News.
The Festival Queen, who is a chef
and an alumnus of the University of Technology (UTech), says she is passionate
about Jamaican cuisine.
She
notes that on countless occasions, she is asked to share her food-preparation
skills with other persons, adding that this and her interest in health fuelled the
birth of the healthy meals project.
Miss Wright points out that by educating individuals about food preparation and healthy eating practices, the project aims to achieve the goal of enabling Jamaicans to realise their full potential through the promotion of healthier lifestyles.
“It is geared
towards health, wellness, and nutrition. I would like to see more persons
empowered to eat the things that are good for us, and know how to prepare it,”
she states of the project to be launched this month.
Miss Wright informs that the project
also represents an effort to ensure a sustained reduction of non-communicable diseases
(NCDs) and will provide an educational opportunity and hands-on approach to
encourage healthier meal consumption, purchasing methods as well as an understanding
of food from the seed to the plate.
“My
mission, as the facilitator and chef, is to inspire, motivate and educate, so
that our communities can make more informed decisions about their diets and
wellness,” she points out, adding that the food and nutrition classes will be
organised for participating schools islandwide.
After each session, students will be
allowed to taste the prepared meals, and ask questions. Two students from each
school will participate in the Nourish and Flourish Competition, to be held at
the end of March, at the Chinese Benevolent Association in St. Andrew.
The Festival Queen expresses the
hope that the project will help to stem the generational cycle of lifestyle
choices that lead to preventable illnesses, and that nutrition awareness will
be taken to a higher level.
“If
these objectives are met, the holistic performance of the participants will be
positively geared in the right direction,” she argues.
Miss Wright contends that the
project is intended to ensure that Jamaicans are healthier, because “we have to
be heathier to fulfil our potential”, as outlined in the long-term National
Development Plan – Vision 2030 Jamaica.
“The project is aligned with that. So in that, I play many parts in educating persons, and ensuring that they are living their best lives,” she says.
Miss
Wright, who is also the parish festival queen for St. Catherine, ended a
29-year drought for the parish, when she copped the national crown in 2019.
With
a degree in Food Services Management, she is preparing to advance her career by
becoming a Wellness Chef, so that she can heighten the campaign for healthier
consumption.
The 23-year-old queen has, so far,
been conferred with the Marcella Blake Award for Leadership, Commitment and
Resilience by UTech, and nominated twice for the Omni Hotel Service Champion
Award, while working at the Resort in Texas, USA.
A firm believer in serving her
community, Miss Wright is a member of the Greater Portmore Joint Council, the
New Kingston Rotaract Club, and the Council of Voluntary and Social Services.
She
encourages well thinking, civic-minded Jamaicans to become positive role models
for the nation’s youth.
Miss Wright tells JIS News that at age nine she was positively
impacted by her school teacher, Tanya Ewers-Clarke, at the Kensington Primary
School in St. Catherine.
“I
saw her as the woman I would love to [emulate]; she embodied grace and
passion,” she notes.
The young social advocate also wants
to channel her energy into recycling initiatives, and educating community members
about the dangers of pollution.
She
says winning the Festival Queen title has served to bolster her motivation for
community service.
The Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition, which began as the
Miss Jamaica Beauty Contest in 1963, is organised by the Jamaica Cultural
Development Commission (JCDC).
The need for a greater emphasis on cultural awareness prompted a shift in the competition’s focus in 1975.
The event has grown over the years to become the premier forum for
intelligent, culturally aware and poised young ladies seeking a platform for
their contribution to nation building.
It is one of the highlights of the Emancipation and Independence celebrations
in August.
The contestants at the national coronation are the parish queens
who have been crowned during the 13 parish coronations (Kingston and St. Andrew
being represented by one queen), held annually across the island.
Several Miss Jamaica Festival Queens have gone on to serve as cultural ambassadors and nation builders in their respective careers and areas of endeavour.
Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.
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St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) –April 11, 2024—The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, led by Commissioner Joseph Boschulte, Assistant Commissioner Alani Henneman, and Deputy Commissioner RoseAnne Farrington, traveled to Miami, Florida, to support Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and other local partners agencies for the 2024 Seatrade Cruise Global Conference.
To kick off the week-long event, the Department of Tourism sponsored the highly anticipated Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) barbecue, which was hosted by Governor Bryan.
Revered as a steady leader in the Caribbean tourism industry, the USVI delegation, which also included the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Port Authority, West Indian Company Limited, Magens Bay Authority, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Government Employee Retirement System, showcased the territory and its growing accessibility around the cruise industry to key operators and businesses.
“Cruise has been and continues to be a leading entryway for visitors into the territory, and Seatrade allows representatives from the USVI to interface with and share pertinent updates needed to continue fostering positive relationships throughout the industry,” explains Commissioner Boschulte.
Commissioner Boschulte was featured on the Caribbean Spotlight panel moderated by renowned industry leader and FCCA CEO Michelle Paige, who referenced the Commissioner being named the 2023 Caribbean Tourism Executive of the Year by Caribbean Journal and shared how exceptional the publication’s acknowledgment of his accolades are. Paige referenced Caribbean Journal’s spotlight paragraph reading, “No Caribbean destination has seen more growth in the last three years than the U.S. Virgin Islands, which kicked off a full-fledged tourism renaissance just after the onset of the pandemic and hasn’t looked back. And so much of that growth can be directly tied to the expert stewardship of Boschulte, who helped craft an innovative, flexible response to the challenges of the pandemic and has continued to drive the USVI’s performance with a data-driven, creative approach to modern tourism.”
Commissioner Boschulte and Deputy Commissioner Farrington joined Governor Bryan for meetings with leading cruise lines, including Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival Corporation & plc, amongst others, to discuss continued partnerships, expansion opportunities, and industry updates.
As the global cruise industry continues to restabilize following challenges incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Thomas and St. Croix experienced a 13% growth in 2023 over 2019, with West Indian Company Dock, Crown Bay Dock, and E. Abramson Marine Facility welcoming more than 1,600,000 passengers from 495 total calls for the year. With a 58% year-over-year passenger increase from 2022 to 2023, the USVI continues to grow and is projected to experience another 5% increase in cruise passenger arrivals in 2024.
Commissioner Boschulte also highlighted the remarkable success of the USVI and Caribbean region, stating, “I am proud to see the Caribbean’s appeal continue to captivate travelers. Our collaborative efforts with partners like FCCA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization underscore the unity of our region, ensuring unforgettable experiences for visitors while highlighting the unique strengths of the U.S. Virgin Islands. With a safe, welcoming destination and a shared commitment to tourism, we embrace our role as an integral part of the Caribbean community.”