FOR British-Jamaican Sakaynah Hunter, stepping on to the Miss Universe Great Britain stage as a finalist will represent far more than the pursuit of a crown.

Every sashay will be a heartfelt tribute to her 95-year-old grandfather, Hartley Hunter, whose courageous journey from Jamaica’s rural St Catherine to the United Kingdom during the Windrush era transformed the future of his family and made her own dreams possible.

Born and raised in Benbow, St Catherine, Hartley boarded a ship to Southampton in 1955 after Britain called on Commonwealth citizens to help rebuild the nation following World War II.

Sakaynah said what followed was a life defined by sacrifice, resilience, and determination as he worked tirelessly to establish himself in a foreign land before eventually inviting other relatives to join him, a decision that created opportunities for the generations that followed.

As she advanced through the Miss Universe Great Britain competition, Sakaynah said her family’s joy was overshadowed when the man who raised her was hospitalised with serious heart and kidney complications. Yet, even from his hospital, Hartley remained one of her biggest supporters.

Miss Universe Great Britain finalist, Sakaynah Hunter

Defying doctors’ expectations, he recovered, and now, as Sakaynah prepares to walk the stage on July 11 in Wales, she is determined to honour not only the man whose surname she proudly shares, but also his legacy of sacrifice, perseverance, and hope, which began more than seven decades ago when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

“He’s such a hard worker. He is a workaholic, and he really did set the foundations for what it means when you have a strong work ethic, and that’s why I don’t want to leave anything kind of — I want to make sure that I use all the opportunities that I have to honour him. He’s been such an inspiration. And even with my mom having me young, he really helped out — him and my grandma as well — and enabled us to have these kinds of opportunities, so it’s really important for me,” said Sakaynah.

“In the competition, in terms of my wardrobe, I want to honour Jamaica. I’m wearing colours black, green, and gold or yellow-gold throughout the competition’s itinerary to kind of honour the different messages that those three colours represent— the strength and courage of the black, and the hope and the fertile lands of green, and then the yellow is kind of a symbol in natural wealth and rich sunshine, so I want to make sure I honour him,” she told the
Jamaica Observer.

She said her grandfather never missed an opportunity to share about his Jamaican heritage and his childhood in the Caribbean country, conversations she eagerly absorbed while dreaming of one day experiencing Jamaica herself.

The 34-year-old recalled making her first trip to Jamaica at 14 years old. She said since then, many trips have followed which have allowed her the opportunity to see the places her grandfather grew up and spoke about for many years.

Yet, despite those experiences, she said nothing compares to the moments spent sitting at her grandfather’s feet, listening as he recounted stories of his life, his homeland, and the journey that shaped their family’s future.

“I remember, not long before he went into the hospital he sat us all down in the room and he was talking about his history, and how it was such a struggle for his father, and how they had it really tough back when he was growing up, and just how everyone was living back in the UK as well. Everyone was kind of just having to live in not the best circumstances, but he was so determined to make a better future for everyone,” she recalled.

Jamaican immigrants arrive in England on the Empire Windrush in June 1948. (Photo: Daily Herald Archive)

“He just sat us down and took us through his whole history, and he brought me to tears at that moment. I just want to see him and his face when I enter that stage. He’s not well enough to come to the live final but he will be watching and seeing the clips, and I just want to show him that everything he’s done for the entire family has not gone unnoticed and that we want to keep cherishing it through different generations,” said Sakaynah.

“I want to get up on that stage and I want to give it everything I have, knowing that he started it, he built this legacy, and I just want to make sure that I’m continuing it for him and showing that the next generation will still understand where we’re coming from and still really be grateful for that opportunity that we were given,” she added.

A journalist in the United Kingdom whose beat is women’s rights, Sakaynah said she spent the first few years of her adult life shining light on the challenges women face, both inside and outside of the British Parliament. She is also a university lecturer and PhD researcher with a focus on women’s leadership in society, and with her platform Aligned Woman she seeks to champion self-awareness and intentional leadership among women.

The Miss Universe Great Britain finalist said her decision to participate in the competition stems from a need to explore her creative side, which she’d buried for years in her quest for academic excellence. Through this move she hopes to show women and young girls that it is okay to pivot and explore dreams they thought were long gone.

“I think sometimes us, as women, we fear that we might be showing off, and we don’t realise that a lot of what we’re doing that’s good is so inspiring for the next generation. So, I really want to use the Miss Universe Great Britain platform to inspire women and girls to go after what they want, to go after their dreams, and also to know that they can pivot and they can change direction — and as long as they focus in on themselves and they practise self-awareness, they can make decisions that are really aligned with who they are and who they want to be,” said Sakaynah.

“I want to use the platform to really kind of celebrate us as women who are going after what we want and showing girls that they can also do that as well. It’s a blend of everything I’ve learned in my career,” she added.