Bless you, Shaggy

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Dear Editor,

I wish to congratulate and commend the Jamaican music star, Orville Burrell (Shaggy), for his exemplary charitable nature and responsive attitude to the needs of children, especially those served by the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston.

We cannot deny the fact that to ensure that the hospital obtains the necessary resources to make it and maintain it as a modern and efficient health institution for children, up to the age of 12, requires a considerable amount of financing. This is a challenge to governments in developing countries like Jamaica, especially in the midst of a global economic crisis.

In light of this, there are a number of private sector companies and charitable organisations which have been consistently supporting the hospital. However, despite this, sustainability will remain a challenge for some time.

But we must be encouraged by Mr Burrell's benevolence, because not only has it resulted in the hospital benefiting to the tune of well over $100 million since 2009, but he has set a fine example for other celebrities to use their universal appeal, knowledge and experience of the entertainment business to assist the less privileged.

I wish more of our successful celebrities were doing this, because it isn't only about giving back to Jamaica, but also getting back from Jamaicans their gratitude, love and adoration. I am sure that Mr Burrell's activity has enhanced the respect and adulation Jamaicans have for him and it will leave a positive image in the minds of people around the world who are aware of all he does.

We must appreciate that Bustamante Children's is the only paediatric hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean, which has been providing specialised services in preventive, curative, rehabilitative and ambulatory care for children since 1964.

I hope that Shaggy will continue to support the hospital, that Jamaicans will continue to support his event, that parents will remember him in their prayers for what he has done for the children of our beloved country, and that other celebrities will be encouraged to open their hearts as wide as he has opened up to the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

Derrick C Smith

MP, North West St Andrew

derrickcsmith@yahoo.com

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Bless you, Shaggy