‘Toni-Ann puts St Thomas back on the map’

I t is like a pot being put on the stove, and Toni-Ann Singh is the chef. The ingredients before her are hope, pride, joy, and optimism, which are not always present in the St Thomas kitchen. But now that a daughter of the soil is Miss World, the expectation is that something special - maybe development - could be on the table for the first time at last.

As Toni-Ann Singh toured sections of her home parish yesterday, St Thomas natives poured into the streets to not only get a glimpse of her beauty but to proclaim that the parish was open for business.

Beaming brightly among proud residents was 60-year-old Judith Johnson, who boldly told THE STAR that Singh was the change for her parish that she had been waiting to see all her life.

"I'm so excited and cannot control myself because St Thomas is back on the map. Thank you, Toni-Ann! Thank you!" she exclaimed with a broad grin.

According to her, "Nothing nah gwaan fi we. No Burger King, No stop light ... , nothing at all? Nothing? No work, no road, no highway? Now that she win, at least somebody will sorry for us and give us road that dem get up talk bout every day; proper water system; and everything we want, including more places for the young people to work," Johnson said.

With St Thomas often referred to as the 'forgotten parish', Morant Bay's Mayor Michael Hue said that Singh's success has paved the way for it to become the "Cinderella parish".

Greatest achievement

"Toni has not opened the door to St Thomas, she has kicked it open! This is, indeed, the greatest achievement that I can remember since the 1865 Paul Bogle rebellion," he said to loud cheers.

Donald Minott, who, like Toni-Ann, was raised in Bath, now lives in Canada but is visiting for the holidays.

"This is great for Bath and St Thomas on a whole. I think it will help people to have more recognition for the parish and will open up doors because that's how human beings are. They don't see some things that are important until when something happen that bring their attention to it," Minott said.

"I could be a great person, but no one will see me until I win the lotto, and I'm pretty sure that's what Toni-Ann's win will do for the parish ... . They will at least fix the road," he said.

However, unlike his fellow residents, Clyvie Angel, a 50-year-old pensioner of Bath, is appealing to the people to 'go easy' on the newly crowned queen. He does not want the pressure to cause her to spoil the pot.

"She is just a baby, enuh. Don't too pressure her, man. We have to have confidence in what can happen, yes, but we just have to wait and see. She is not the first Jamaican to be crowned Miss World, and I'm not sure what came out of those. I want work to come, yes, not for me because me a sick man ..., but for the young people. But we need to take time with the young lady. She's pretty young, and if all the expectations dem nuh meet, then imagine how that will make her feel," Angel said.