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The beautiful Shakira Martin was crowned Miss Jamaica Universe 2011 on July 9, 2011 at the Miss Jamaica Universe 2011 Coronation Show held at the National Indoor Sport Centre in Kingston.

Shakira Martin is a hard working young woman, who strives to make a difference in people’s lives, in her home country Jamaica and worldwide. She is an advocate for Sickle Cell Anemia, being a Sickler herself. Although she has been faced with challenges due to the disease, she refuses to become a victim of it and lives to encourage other sicklers to do the same. Sickle Cell Anemia advocacy is the driving force in her life. She wants a voice to spread the word about this disability, as well as others such as HIV/Aids (Miss Universe 2011 Platform), Breast Cancer, Lupus, and Clinical Depression to name a few. One of her goals is to build a Sickle Cell Research Clinic in Africa, where the disease began.

Shakira studied Early Childhood Education at the Nova Southeastern University in Florida and worked as a preschool teacher for many years because of her desire to inspire young minds. She hopes to become an ambassador to young men and women internationally and to be the catalyst for pointing them in a new direction. She plans to continue on her studies in Marketing and Tourism & Hospitality Management

Shakira is determined to see her dreams of becoming a humanitarian, role model, and inspiration on generations to come manifest into reality. She has the soul of a warrior and the heart of an angel with a passion for people and seeing a better tomorrow.

“The things that I want to accomplish, may be ‘cliche’ for a beauty queen, but those are the things that are genuinely in my heart. World peace, a solution to starvation, hugging trees and all that jazz. It’s all a part of the plan.” – Shakira Martin

Shakira Martin will go on to represent Jamaica at the Miss Universe 2011 Pageant in São Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011.