About
Omar C. Richards was born and raised in Kingston Jamaica, where he
overcame many barriers and challenges to
always strive to reach
the top.
As the eldest of three and only boy for his mother, Sharon Maragh and
twelfth of fourteen for his Canadian father, Clive Richards, from an
early age, Omar always showcase a love and passion for the arts.
As a youth growing up in the rough ghettos of Tivoli Gardens, Kingston
14, Jamaica Omar was never limited by these circumstances , owing to his
sheer determination to succeed meant he presents himself to always stand
equal chances in a country where the gap between the rich and the poor
is very wide.
Omar has a natural gift for communicating with people from all walks of
life and different levels, which correlates well with his social skills
and attitude.
After assuming many leadership roles at school in Jamaica and within his
local community, he used each opportunity as a way forward to
progressing.
In 2002 Omar was awarded an international literary Scholarship after winning an essay writing competition, to London in 2002 at the YOUTH SUPPORT International World Youth Forum. It was here that his dreams started coming to fruition, expressing himself through dance, music and drama.
Given this chance, Omar saw an opportunity to take advantage of the
wealth of opportunities London has to offer, particularly in Education
and journalistic training.
A few years later, after graduating from the Tivoli Gardens High School,
Kingston Jamaica, Omar returned to London; where he enrolled for a
course of study in Social Science and Humanities at Lambeth College.
For both the College and Omar it
was the beginning of a new era. Whilst equally excelling at his 2 years
study programme he was transforming the lives of students and staff at
Lambeth College, as
Student’s Union President and Governor.
A year later in 2006 at the YOUTH SUPPORT International Conference at
The Royal Society of Medicine, London Omar gave a well-received
presentation on ‘Ghetto’s and Yards’ an insight into the lives of
Jamaican youths within inter-city communities.
Omar’s impact at Lambeth saw him being awarded for ‘Excellent Service
and Commitment’ to Lambeth College in 2007 and at the end of his studies
he secured a job working as a learning mentor and undertaking duties
with the National Union of Students (NUS) and was awarded; ‘Youth
Ambassador for Peace’ by the Universal Peace Federation in conjunction
with the United Nations’ millennium goal.
After launching off to university; Omar undertook a 4 year degree
programme in Journalism at The City University, London. Where he was
again, very involved in the Students’ Union as well as working with the
NUS-Black Student’s campaign. At
City, as a popular student Omar was always appearing in university
adverts, writing for the student press and representing the university
on various platforms nationally.
Omar shares a wealth of experience working with local youths from
countries such as his native Jamaica, Los Angeles, Italy, Afghanistan
and visited Poland as guess to the Holocaust Educational Trust.
As a youth expert, Omar continues to work extensively for Youth
Support
Charity as Communications Manager, undertaking many projects.
Omar continues to practise his journalism through several media sources
including YouTube and writing blogs for the popular online citizen
journalism website.
Other credits include: Appearance
in and working on the Production team of the award winning film
‘Asylum’ alongside former East Enders star Leila Birch (Teresa
Dimarco) who also produced the documentary he made special dance
appearances in ‘Perfect
Crime’ by music artist Kyan Kuatois to name a few. Other credits
include:
BBC One: The Big Question, London 2012-Broadcast Liaison Officer,
South London Press (Reporter),Television Jamaica (TVJ)
and Producing and presenting
a weekly on Demand show at Vox Radio, Lambeth College, coverage of
the National student’s demo, Trade Union Congress( TUC march) and
exclusive interviews with
; Got to dance and X-factor contestants.