ONR to raise $600m in US, UK and Canada
THE Office of National Reconstruction (ONR) hopes to rake in $600 million through fund-raisers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada by the end of the year.
In the US, the ONR will focus on New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which all have large Jamaican and West Indian populations.
There will also be local fund-raising efforts as the ONR tries to improve on the $900 million in commitments it has already been given.
Mandated to coordinate relief efforts and the rebuilding of the sections of the island that were battered by Hurricane Ivan between September 10 and 11, the ONR still needs more than 75 per cent of the estimated $22.44 billion in damage.
“The ONR. will be needing significantly greater inflows to meet the cost of the rebuilding effort,” said the office’s communications liaison officer Tracey Hamilton. “It is hoped that the fund-raising events would help to raise another $600 million.”
