(LIFE & LIVING) It’s fulfilling impacting lives -Daisy Handfield, journalist, actress, philanthropist
Daisy Handfield is an actress from the Turks and Caicos Islands. Known for her roles in Butterfly, Lost (2021) and Cost of Living (2021).
She started professionally as a news anchor in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Then she moved on to creating a TV show called Extending a Hand with Daisy Handfield which was filmed and aired in the Dominican Republic. With the show, she collaborated with government and private companies to support people in the Dominican Republic with basic needs.
Daisy has also raised funds to make available months of food supply for one of the orphanages in Tanzania.
Her passion has always been to pour her gifts and talents into people, and that has driven her to recreate a version of her television show Extending a Hand, here in Nigeria.
Daisy, however, intends to stay focused on her mission to support and uplift people to find wholeness in their journey through life.
She spoke with The Nigerian Xpress
Share with us your growing up?
I grew up in the Turks and Caicos Islands with my late father who was a native of the country and with my mother who is from the Dominican Republic. I have two sisters and one brother. I speak Spanish and English fluently. I grew up in a Christian household, which means that God was always the centre.
What influenced your passion for the arts?
From a young age, I would watch talent shows and a lot of Spanish soap operas. I just knew that one day I wanted to be a TV star. One night as a kid I was watching a talent show. I was so amazed at how talented they were and I remember my late father saying to me that one day I would be there, too. As a child, I also enjoyed writing poetry and I was good at English Literature and English Language in school.
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You started professionally as a news anchor, how did you venture into acting?
I was a news anchor for almost a decade of my life, but deep inside I still wanted something more. I enjoyed the news for that period of my life, but I always knew that I also wanted to act in movies.
At one point I decided that I wanted to take a risk and try something different with my life. So, a few years ago, I took the risk of permanently moving from the Caribbean (Turks and Caicos Islands) to Europe (London, United Kingdom) where I enrolled in acting classes. While taking my acting classes, I would attend auditions for roles. Within my first year of acting, I managed to secure a couple of movie roles.
You are passionate about supporting and helping the needy, what informed this line?
This passion was also from a tender age. I started volunteering at the local Red Cross in my country at about the age of 12. I always knew that no matter what line of work I ended up in, I still wanted to make philanthropy a priority. I always wanted to have an impact on the lives of others which is what inspired a show I created years back in the Caribbean.
It was called Extending a Hand with Daisy Handfield and on the show, I highlighted the needs of unfortunate people in the Dominican Republic and did my best to assist them. I would travel from the Turks and Caicos Islands on weekends to film and then resume work in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Mondays. It was hectic, but it was fulfilling for me.
You are also starting a TV show in Nigeria focused on helping the needy, tell us about it.
Yes, the show will be called Another Chance with Daisy Handfield. It will be similar to the humanitarian show I had in the Caribbean. I will highlight the needs of individuals and collaborate with the private sector to facilitate the needs of these individuals.
What is your reach and who are your beneficiaries?
I want to start with Lagos and then hopefully as we grow, take it all over Nigeria. I don’t want to put any limitations on beneficiaries because I want to be open to assisting a range of individuals. However, I can say that I do want to focus on a lot of people with medical issues and education. As time progresses, I want to form partnerships with government entities in Nigeria, to help on a larger scale
How is it living and working across continents?
It gets challenging at times when there are cultural differences, but it’s also a surreal and beautiful feeling. Beautiful because I’ve met some amazing people along this journey and surreal because I would never have thought that I would have taken such a huge risk travelling so far from home. It takes a lot of courage to leave your comfort zone to start over somewhere else.
What motivates and drives you?
Knowing that I’m living out my dreams and that I’m in alignment with my purpose are what push me to go even harder.
What challenges have you faced so far in achieving your goals?
I think one of the most common challenges I’ve faced in Nigeria is managing my time. Nigeria is a big country with a huge population and I say this because being a big country comes with pros and cons. One of the major cons would be traffic. So, I’m still learning to manage my time so that I can be as productive as possible throughout the day. Remember, I come from a small group of islands, so being stuck in traffic for long periods is still something I’m getting used to.
What advice do you have for young women on living their dreams?
My advice to young women would be to never put limitations on themselves. If you have a dream for your life, work towards it. Also, you will not have it all figured out in your twenties and regardless of how much you think you know, learning will be a never-ending thing. I would encourage them to use their twenties to work on themselves and on becoming a woman of substance because it sets the foundation for their thirties.
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I feel like women are conditioned by society to believe that they must be married and have a family by a certain age, but women should not conform to this. God is in control of your life, so his path and timing in your life are different from his timing and purpose for someone else’s life. Don’t let society rush you into things because they do not know the calling that God has placed over your life.
Share with us your beauty regimen?
I won’t even lie and say that I have an elaborate beauty regimen. I used to, but nowadays I just make sure I wash my face at least twice a day and I keep my skin moist at all times. Aside from that, I make sure I drink loads of water throughout the day and I try to make sure I get a facial at least once a month. It works for me… Do you know what they say? If it isn’t broken then don’t fix it.
How do you relax?
It might sound a bit peculiar, but drinking tea, going to the spa, and listening to the Word of God are the things that keep me most relaxed.
What is your life mantra?
My current life mantra is a Bible verse: Ecclesiastes 9:11- The race is not for the swiftest, but for those who endure the longest.
A lot of people are rushing through life, but in all honesty, going nowhere fast. These days I try my best to do things that align with my purpose. If it isn’t something that will help me grow in purpose then I say no to it. I used to try to do so much because society has conditioned us to believe that the more, we do, the more successful we look. But ask yourself, does it align with my purpose? It is not about quantity, but more so about the quality of what you are doing.
Your educational background?
I studied Journalism at the London School of Journalism in the United Kingdom. I’ve also completed several acting courses.
Before deciding to take journalism seriously, I started as an intern at a local television station in my country. Eventually, I decided that it was something that I wanted to do long-term, so began studying Journalism online at the London School of Journalism in the United Kingdom while simultaneously working for a local newspaper in the Turks and Caicos Islands, to strengthen my writing skills.
I would also work part-time with the country’s government radio station and serve as a foreign news correspondent from the Turks and Caicos Islands for Telemicro, a Spanish TV station based in the Dominican Republic. I then went on to produce my humanitarian television show, Extending a Hand with Daisy Handfield. After almost 10 years of media experience, I decided that I wanted to pursue acting, which is when I moved permanently to Europe and started taking acting classes.