The Vincent HoSang Family Foundation has donated US$10,000 to hurricane relief efforts being spearheaded by The University of the West Indies (UWI) through its newly established Caribbean Emergency Management Association (CEMA).

Formed to assist islands devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria, which hit the region in September, CEMA is a joint fund-raising organisation with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

Dr HoSang, chairman of the US-based foundation, said that he was “saddened at the devastation wreaked by the hurricanes and the suffering of our Caribbean brothers and sisters. I hope this donation will help to put them on the path to recovery”.

The Jamaican-born Dr HoSang made the comment as he presented the cheque at The UWI Mona Western Jamaica Campus in Montego Bay, HoSang’s Caribbean Food Delights is a leading producer of Jamaican patties in North America.

Dr Luz Longsworth, principal of The UWI Open Campus who is leading the hurricane relief efforts in the islands on behalf of UWI, expressed appreciation to Dr HoSang, saying there is a lot of work to be done to rehabilitate the islands destroyed by Irma and Maria.

“We are seeing the devastation first-hand as our UWI teams work with the officials in islands like Dominica and Barbuda, where our open campus family and others have been hard hit. The UWI is mobilising resources from alumni, philanthropic individuals and companies in the Caribbean and internationally, to help finance relief efforts,” Dr Longsworth said.

He lauded Dr HoSang for his generosity, noting that he is a long-standing major donor to a number of UWI programmes, including the Mona School of Business and Management’s project for entrepreneurship, and full tuition scholarships offered, through the foundation, to needy students pursuing their first degrees at the university.

A well known business leader and philanthropist, Dr HoSang holds the national honour, the Order of Jamaica, conferred by the Government and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from The UWI.

HoSang and his wife Jeanette were also nominated for the 2010 Jamaica Observer Business Leader Diaspora Investor Award.