Emily Teresa Singh – Accepting her responsibilities; Miss West Indian Canadian Queen 2019

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“Being able to give back to Guyana is very important to me because I feel as though poverty in Guyana is overlooked.”

Beauty pageants have an incredible appeal about them; beautiful, talented women, enticing the crowd in their jaw dropping gowns, with their incredible talents, and of course that moment when the winner is announced; it makes for awesome entertainment. Beauty pageants have been viewed through two different lenses: some see it as negative and sexist, and others see it as positive, and a way for young women to build confidence. For Emily Singh, being in a pageant wasn’t even a consideration, which is why when she won Miss West Indian Canadian, 2019, it not only surprised her, it gave her a new perspective on the world of beauty pageants.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper had an opportunity to speak with the recently crowned queen, and she happily shared her story with us, “I was born in Canada, but my parents are from Guyana. I remember when I was younger that during the summer time, we would always go back home to visit my family. When I was there, I noticed right away that things were different for kids in Guyana than they were for kids in Canada. They had to deal with terrible living conditions, and many of the issues there were unaddressed. When I was younger I could not do much about it, but as soon as I could I did.”

Emily discloses a little more about how she first took action, “When I was in middle school; I had heard about someone who was doing a Christmas Drive for underprivileged children and I thought, why can’t we start something like this at my school? So that is exactly what I did, and that is how Operation Christmas Child was born. I think I must have been in grade eight when I brought the concept to my school (Divine Infant Catholic School, Scarborough, Ontario), and they have continued on with this powerful initiative.” Operation Christmas Child allowed the community to donate: toys, clothes, school supplies, and other miscellaneous items, and these donations were given to under privileged children in developing countries.

“With help from teachers and other students, we were able to collect a large amount of non-perishable foods, even hygiene products, anything that was easy for us to get here in Canada, but not so easy to get if you live in a third world country. I graduated and left the school, but my passion for helping others came with me.”

For women wanting to make a difference in whatever cause is important to them, pageants are such an incredible megaphone. They give these women the opportunity to work with a cause that is personally significant to them, “It is a lot of responsibility, and once the glitz and glam is done; I still have a job to do. The fun part was being able to dance on stage and to entertain, now I have to show and prove myself worthy of the crown by remaining an active member of my community.”

For her platform, Emily decided that if she could help start an initiative for children all over the world, now she would narrow her focus and do the same thing for children in Guyana. “Children do not have programs like we do here. So in my reigning year, I plan to implement programs that will help children in Guyana have a more positive future.”

Emily admits that she was not really a pageant person, and she did not have many friends within the West Indian community; the pageant changed all of that for her; not only did she create bonds during the pageant, she feels more connected to her community. She is very thankful to her parents, and sister who stood with her throughout the entire pageant process, “My parents and sister helped me select my evening gown and the song I used during the talent section of the competition. I will always be thankful to my dance teacher who spent hours preparing me for my dance sequence, and of course I can’t forget to thank Julie Rambali, the organizer of the Miss West Indian Canadian Pageant.

So what is our young Queen doing now; well Emily is in her second year of Journalism at Ryerson University, where she is also pursuing a double minor in Criminology and English. Her future goals include entering the world of broadcasting, and one day hopefully being a newscaster, or reporter for CP24. Outside of her studies she keeps busy acting, dancing and speaking at community events. She feels a deep connection with the indigenous community because she feels that they have to deal with so much injustice, and some of their stories are not told. As a journalist, she will have the ability to share these stories, and hopefully shine a light on the conditions that are faced by the indigenous communities here in Canada

With some slight adjustments, Emily has now launched her Christmas Drive and it runs from November 12^th, 2019–December 24^th, 2019. Right now she has two drop off locations: one in Scarborough and one in Cambridge. She is also working on securing a location in the west end for drop offs. Her plan is to pack barrels filled with: pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, paper, soap, washcloths, towels, hairclips, watches, baby food formula, and even canned fish and meat. For more information on drop offs, you can contact Emily at 905-903-6152.

It is wonderful to see our young women taking such bold steps to activate the community during the holiday season. Keep up great work Emily, and wear that crown with pride; you deserve it!