A Woman on a Mission to Help Others, Preserve Culture and Stay True to Herself
You can tell a lot about a person from the words that they hold most dear. Regarding Her Excellency Lady Sandra Williams, the advice she most cherishes was given to her by her father, Jasper, who sadly passed away on August 11th, 2022 and was buried 2 days before the passing of Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll. When she was a child, he told his young daughter:
“To thine own self be true.”
These poignant words instilled a sense of honesty in his little girl – a quality that she made sure to take with her into adulthood. This really comes through when she talks about the causes that she’s passionate about. It also goes hand in hand with the strong sense of grace, virtue and respectively that she radiates when she carries out her duties alongside her husband, His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda.
This was certainly the case when the pair hosted the fifth annual Wings of Charity gala at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London in June. The fundraiser was presented by their non-profit organisation, the Halo Foundation, and raised money for Street Pastors.
All in all, the event was a major success – with over 300 patrons in attendance, including members of the diplomatic and corporate community. It had all the makings of an international celebration too, with a focus on the music, arts and culture of Antigua and Barbuda.
The Halo Foundation isn’t just busy on one night of the year though. With Lady Williams as its founder and president, it provides advocacy and support to 32 charities of which she and her husband assumed the patronage of when Sir Rodney was appointed as Governor-General in 2014.
Lady Williams’ official role is varied and features elements of branding and liaising with the various organisations in order to ensure that her husband is able to concentrate on other areas of his portfolio. Just some of the good causes that she dedicates her time to include those focused on the differently abled, the elderly, youth, the environment, education, culture and the arts, health, women and girls’ issues, world peace and sports.
It might come as a surprise for people to learn that Lady Williams didn’t actually grow up in the land in which now dedicates so much of her time and resources to. Instead, she was born in St. John’s, Antigua but then spent most of her formative years living in different countries.
This happened first when she moved to Canada at the age of three. She initially lived in the capital city Ottawa, before later moving to Toronto. After a short spell back in Antigua, she was bound for the west and lived in North Wales, United Kingdom. Finally, she completed high school in Georgetown, Guyana.
Through living in North America, Europe, and South America, she had already called three continents home by the time she was just a teenager. It’s an impressive résumé for someone who would later go on to make her mark in the tourism industry.
Lady Williams’ received the grounding of her education across these three continents, which in later life would lead to her to becoming a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Science, and a Doctor of Civil Law.
However, she was clearly shaped by more than just what she learned in the classroom. One can only imagine that the pristine rainforests of Guyana and the green fields of the UK must have also played a huge part in forming her views of the world.
It therefore shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to hear that she’s heavily invested in environmental issues. In fact, when asked what the most important issue to her is, she responds:
“The sustainability of life in all possible forms – humans, animals, plants, the atmosphere, the universe. We need to preserve life and not to seek to destroy it.”
This is just one of the many admirable aims of Lady Williams. Thankfully for those who are keen to see more measures introduced to tackle the climate crisis, Lady Williams is someone who’s used to taking action and getting things done – so there’s every reason to believe that she and her team will play their part.
After all, you need look no further than what she achieved in the tourism industry ahead of becoming the Governor General’s Goodwill Emissary. Her list of accolades is long and very impressive, starting first in a public relations role at the Department of Tourism in Antigua.
Lady Williams then earned a Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, which eventually led to her gaining a role in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States in Frankfurt, Germany.
She would later become the Director of Tourism at the Antigua and Barbuda Office of Tourism in London, before progressing to a role at the Ministry of Planning. The last 12 years of her tourism career were spent as the Director of Marketing for a regional airline and then in a marketing consultancy position before she was asked to dedicate her time to voluntary service.
It really is quite a résumé – and that’s before you factor in her now eight-year term as the Spouse of the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda! But in a rather humble fashion, Lady Williams refuses to give herself the pat on the back that she so rightly deserves for everything that she’s achieved and the positive impact she continues to have.
“Quite honestly, I can’t pinpoint a ‘most proud’ moment,” she says when reflecting on the difference she’s made to the world. She adds: “I am just thankful that I have been able to wake up every morning and do the best that I can.”
Rather admirably, Lady Williams isn’t the type of person to make big bold promises that she cannot keep. Throughout all the hard work that she does, she is realistic and likes to manage people’s expectations.
It’s clearly important to her that she and her foundation play their role in raising funds and awareness for those worthwhile causes that need it most but she acknowledges that work needs to be done on a larger scale.
“There will be poverty, prejudice and suffering always,” she argues. “We cannot eradicate it, but we are certainly doing our best to contribute on a micro scale towards the alleviation of these human afflictions.”
These are issues that would weigh heavy on anyone’s shoulders, so it’s comforting to see that Lady Williams hasn’t lost sight of herself in midst of her plight. Alongside her duties she remains a devoted wife and a caring mother. In addition, she describes herself as someone who is ‘exquisitely sensitive’ but with an ‘unexpected sense of humour’.
“Like most mothers, I panic uncontrollably if my son has not been in contact with me for a 24-hour stretch,” she reveals.
She then quips: “And if my husband is not around, the house seems exceptionally quiet since he is always talking – even in his sleep!”
Family is something that’s very important to Lady Williams. You can sense this from the way she talks about her husband and son, but also when she speaks about her parents. After all, she’s kept hold of her father’s advice after all these years.
Lady Williams says: “Without my mother’s kind encouragement and my father’s intellectual guidance, I suppose life may have been vastly different.”
Sadly, Lady Williams’ mother passed away in 2021, but – much like her father did – her mum also instilled in her the core values that make her who she is today.
“Mum taught me to care about others and to be charitable and tolerant,” reflects Lady Williams. “My dad taught us independence, the ability to analyse life situations and the drive to finish whatever we started.”
She adds: “Both my parents insisted on honesty and fairness to the hilt.”
Lady Williams, however, cherishes more than just her family from her childhood. Rather, there are rituals and traditions that evoke happy memories for her – including the ‘twinkling lights’ and ‘smell of pine’ at Christmas.
Then, of course, there is the creole culture that’s such an emblem of the islands of the Caribbean. Citing the cuisine and music as the benchmarks of the culture, like many people Lady Williams wants to protect these revered traditions and make sure that they continue to be passed down from generation to generation. This, she believes, will guarantee that the culture can be enjoyed for many more years to come.
Lady Williams argues:
“We should ensure that the essence of our traditions is passed down through the generations by information sharing, the safeguarding of artifacts and the retention of cultural best practices on the local front.”
This is, however, an ever-changing world. The problems of the last few years alone – from the pandemic and the rising cost of living to the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine – have shown us all that nothing is certain about the future.
With this in mind, Lady Williams admits that she frets about global issues and how this can have an effect on us.
She reveals:
“As a deep thinker, I regularly ponder the many global issues that are heartbreaking and less than desirous. I am the first to admit that I do not smile as often as I should.”
Lady Williams is still full of hope. In fact, it’s quite a contagious hope. This is particularly true when it comes to the climate crisis. While countries bicker about how and when to become carbon neutral, she believes that the youth of today will one day rise up and prove that such problems can – and will – be solved.
“It is up to the next generation to balance carefully the use of our planet’s limited assets,” she says. “They have unfortunately inherited a world where huge forests and vast oceans have been destroyed in the interest of commerce and plundered in the interest of profit and capital gain.”
In the meantime, Lady Williams won’t just sit back and wait for change to happen. Instead, the youth arm of the Halo Foundation – called Halo Generation Y – has already started playing their part in tackling the climate emergency. This has so far consisted of clean-up campaigns on the island, but more initiatives are in the pipeline and will be unveiled in 2023.
“These are small beginnings,” explains Lady Williams. She adds: “But every conscious effort, no matter how small, to take care of our environment is helpful.”
It’s a great example of how we can all play our part – no matter how big or small – in tackling the issues that are affecting the world. In many ways, Lady Williams inspires people to do more and it’s likely that we’ll still see her helping the causes most dear to her even when she is no longer the spouse of the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda.
She says: “My motto is ‘get up, stand up’ each day and do the very best that I can to help others along the way.”
There’s plenty to take away from these words. If there’s one thing to really absorb though it’s that we’re all capable of making a difference – it just all starts with ‘getting up and standing up’.
And if like Lady Williams you can be true to yourself in the process, well, then you can really start to make a positive change to the world.