Residents Urged To Wear Blue In Remembrance Of Kijani Burgess & Bermuda's Road Fatality Victims

Members of the community are being urged to wear blue on Monday, January 18, in recognition of the #PainIntoPurpose initiative launched after the tragic road traffic death of 16-year-old Kijani Burgess in January last year, to “express solidarity with families of road accident victims, as well as promote road safety awareness”.

A spokesperson said the campaign is being led by the Bermuda Institute Class of 2021.

“The campaign was started in January 2020 following the death of their classmate, 16-year-old Kijani Burgess on January 13th in remembrance of him. The community rallied around Kijani’s family and turned the island blue.

“As we all have seen throughout 2020 and the beginning of this year, many people have lost loved ones due to different circumstances that they have faced,” the spokesperson added.

“In honour and in special memory of those who have lost their lives to Bermuda’s roads, #PainIntoPurpose Bermuda wants to hold the Sea of Blue Day once again.

“Hoping to make this an annual event, their purpose and mission is to remember those individuals who are not here with us anymore, and to shed light on the importance of Road Safety Awareness and show their support for their families and loved ones.

“Kijani’s classmates along with his family hope that everyone will participate and ‘paint’ Bermuda blue in an impactful way and show their support to the families by wearing blue, writing with a blue pen or wearing a blue ribbon in support of the campaign and help the families to turn their Pain Into Purpose.

“You are encouraged to post pictures on social media using the hashtag #PainIntoPurpose or #PainIntoPurposeBermuda and on their Instagram and Facebook pages @PainIntoPurposeBermuda.”