‘Pain Into Purpose’ Urges People To Wear Blue
PainIntoPurpose Bermuda, in collaboration with the Kijani Burgess Dream Award Charity #1023, is inviting everyone to “express your support for the families of road accident victims and to promote road safety and wellness awareness by wearing Blue in remembrance of all who have been lost or harmed in traffic accidents in Bermuda.”
A spokesperson said, “2022 saw 11 persons lose their lives on our roads due to various circumstances. During the past three years [2020 – 2022], 34 persons have lost their lives on Bermuda’s roads. The number of persons lost on the roads between 2010 and 2022 is 144. In honour and special memory of all loved ones and those impacted by their deaths, PainIntoPurpose Bermuda will host the Sea of Blue Day once again.
“Our annual theme is – Road Safety and Wellness Awareness. Our purpose and mission is to remember those individuals who are no longer with us and to shed light on the importance of Road Safety and Wellness.
“Through our grief, we realized that adding ‘Wellness’ to our mission allows us to be more inclusive of matters that are connected to road safety such as: overcoming injury, as well as dealing with grief and mental health whilst showing support to victims’ families and loved ones. The impact of road traffic accidents on families can be devastating mentally, physically and financially, and we would like to bring awareness to each of these areas.
“The PainIntoPurpose Bermuda campaign was started in January 2020 by the Bermuda Institute Grade 11 Class of 2021 in remembrance of their classmate, 16 year-old Kijani Burgess, who lost his life in a road accident on January 13, 2020. On January 13, 2023, we hope that everyone will ‘Paint’ Bermuda Blue and show their support in an impactful way by wearing your PainIntoPurpose Road Safety Awareness blue shirts, dressing in blue, writing with a blue pen or wearing a blue ribbon.
“We also encourage you to perform a Random of Act of Kindness in the memory of someone who has lost their life or been injured on Bermuda’s roads. Your visible demonstration of support will help the families to turn their Pain Into Purpose. We also encourage you to remember the first responders on this day who are also impacted mentally when attending to accidents.
“Please post pictures of your participation on social media and tag us on Instagram and Facebook @PainIntoPurposeBermuda using the hashtag #PainIntoPurpose or #PainIntoPurposeBermuda. Come join us and let’s Paint Bermuda BLUE on Friday, January 13, 2023.”
