Dr Gabrielle Henry’s victory as Miss Universe Jamaica 2025 tells a story far deeper than a crown. She gracefully balances her passion for advocacy with a focus on the visually impaired.

After competing against 26 talented contestants in the Miss Universe Jamaica 2025 competition, Henry secured multiple awards, including Best in Swimwear, Personality Award, Media Challenge, and the Altruism Award.

When asked which of these awards held the most personal meaning, Henry highlighted the Altruism Award.

“That is because of who I was chosen to mentor. So we were partnered with some ladies from the Annie Dawson Children’s Home as a part of the Go Getter programme, which is an initiative put on by Miss University of Jamaica this year. And the young lady that I was partnered with is a 16-year-old young lady. She has visual impairment,” Henry said.

She shared that the initiative was particularly meaningful due to her own cause, the See Me Foundation, which aims to support the social reintegration of visually impaired individuals and promote their employment in both public and private sectors.

Preparation for re-entering Miss Universe Jamaica and her advocacy journey

Having previously competed in the 2023 Miss Universe Jamaica competition, Henry revealed that she initially had no intention of re-entering. “I think when I had completed the pageant the first time, I said, okay, this is it. But when I reflected on the process and how much it developed me as a person, I said, I must re-enter,” she said. “It’s absolutely necessary because it just fulfils you in a way that I have not experienced in other jurisdictions.”

Henry noted that mental preparation was also key after deciding to re-enter the pageant. “It takes a lot of mental fortitude to be a queen, to be a part of a pageant. And that was really the foundation that I built myself upon. Following this, of course, I had to work on my walk. I had to work on my communication skills, which are also components of the pageantry,” she added.

Her passion for advocacy began after a life-changing interaction with a patient who experienced permanent vision loss. ” When she had started to lose her vision, it was gradually progressive. So she didn’t really take note of it, but by the time she had presented, there wasn’t much that we could do. And it was because of that, she lost her source of income…”

She emphasised the importance of creating more opportunities in Jamaica for visually impaired individuals, noting that in many first-world countries, systems are in place to support their employment.

Henry also stated that more must be done to integrate visually impaired individuals into the fabric of Jamaican society. “[Being visually impaired doesn’t mean that they don’t have the mental capacity to contribute to our society. And so that’s why I am here to stand up for them and to remind us as a Jamaican society that we can do something for our people.

“This is 7 per cent of our population, it’s quite significant, so we can definitely do something in terms of bringing them into the fore, integrating them into our communities, integrating them into our activities so that they feel a part of our society,” she continued.