Grammy-winning Jamaican singjay, Shaggy and his Shaggy and Friends foundation have donated JM$55 million to the Bustamante Hospital for Children. the proceeds raised by the staging of the biennial Shaggy and Friends concert in January.
Though the figure is JM$15 million less than the figure raised during the 2014 edition, Shaggy expressed his satisfaction with the amount and handed over a cheque at a ceremony held at the hospital on Tuesday.
This year’s proceeds go towards improving various sections of the hospital, including the Intensive Care Unit, which currently has five beds, much less than required.
“The figure that we make is nothing compared to what we spend. What we make is a drop in the bucket from what we really need; however, we are grateful for all the support,” he said at a presser for the event.
However, Shaggy did hit out at Jamaicans living in the United States for their lack of support towards the event. This year’s edition of the Shaggy and Friends show was broadcast on iHeartRadio, a U.S.-based radio station that broadcast the show on 18 channels across the country.
Though the radio station did their part, Shaggy said the support they received from the diaspora in the U.S. was poor.
“There are over four millions Jamaicans living in the United States, more than who live in Jamaica. But the Jamaicans didn’t step up to do their part. We raised way less than we expected from them.” he said.
The Shaggy and Friends foundation received a pair of donations during Tuesday’s ceremonies; a JM$8 million donation from WATA, who released over two million specially-marked bottles in December in support of this year’s event, as well as a JM$1.5 million donation from car dealership, Stewart’s Auto.
Bustamante Hospital chairman, Kenneth Benjamin revealed during the ceremony that over 450 pieces of medical equipment have been purchased since the inception of the Shaggy and Friends concert in 2009.
“Over 77,000 children are treated at this hospital yearly. This is the only children’s hospital in the the Caribbean, so we attend to children from the region also.” he said. “Shaggy and his team has proven that they are all about making a change and not just another avenue for talk.”
