Shaggy Praised At Vatican Concert For Contributions To Bustamante Children’s Hospital
Shaggy’s sterling contributions to the Bustamante Children’s Hospital in Kingston, via his Shaggy and Friends fundraiser, was given special highlight during the Vatican Christmas concert, following his performance.
The accolades came at the end of his performance of his mega-hit song Angel when the event’s emcee and translator posed the question about his altruism to the multi-platinum-selling Dancehall megastar.
“From the outskirts of Kingston, you became so famous all over the world, for that reason you want to use your success to help others change their lives,” she asked Shaggy.
“Absolutely, I have the opportunity – I am blessed with a gift and I want the gift to inspire people,” the It Wasn’t Me star replied, evoking a round of applause when his words were translated to the audience.
“But I know Shaggy that you donate so much a million dollars to a hospital for children in Jamaica. Is it true?” was the follow-up question from the host.
“Yes, it’s the Bustamante Hospital for Children,” Shaggy said smiling. It’s a charity,” he told her referencing the benefactor of the proceeds of his Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation.
At the beginning of his performance, several young women in the audience can be been rocking to the beat of Angel. By the end, Shaggy had the majority of the mostly stoic Catholic audience, including several priests, clapping along to one of the biggest romance songs recorded by a Jamaican.
The last Shaggy and Friends event was held on January 6, 2018.
In November 2019, many members of the Dancehall fraternity and fans of Shaggy, took The Gleaner newspaper to task after it published an article titled Busta’ still waiting – Hospital yet to benefit from $100m raised at 2018 Shaggy and Friends charity concert’. The complainants, which included scores of the newspaper’s readers, felt the media house had treated the artist unfairly and slanderously.
A week later, Shaggy, who was overseas preparing to honor his musical commitments including a Little Mermaid Live production, flew to Kingston, where he held a press conference at the Bustamante Children’s Hospital in a bid to clear his name.
Shaggy had categorically stated that the questions surrounding funds raised by his Foundation had left him feeling disheartened.
At the time he said the imbroglio had not only left him feeling disappointed, but had plunged him into disillusionment after his then nine-year-old daughter came to him and said she knew he was going to the meeting at Bustamante “to tell them that you didn’t steal the money.”
He had shown bank statements explaining that the funds raised from the event remained in the account untouched and were earmarked specifically to be used to equip the intensive care unit of the hospital with additional beds.
Shaggy and the hospital board chairman, Kenny Benjamin, had explained that despite the handing over of a symbolic JM$100 million cheque following the concert, the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation was awaiting the expansion of the ICU space at the hospital to facilitate the additional beds.
Shaggy had also re-emphasized that it was never the foundation’s policy to hand over cash directly to the hospital, but rather to meet its needs via the procuring of items.
Last month, Shaggy, in an interview with Onstage’s Winford Williams, said that while he was not ruling out staging Shaggy and Friends again in the future, he was still reticent about pushing the issue.
“In the midst of you going in, you can’t be going in openly and trying to make this happen and try to jump hoops and yuh have anedda man a seh: ‘yow wi a guh throw him unda di bus’ di first chance yuh get. I have worked too hard for my brand and my career to risk all a dat fi dem suh,” he had said.
“I will still help; I am still raising money; I can cut cheques when I want to the hospital. But at the end of the day, I can still buy equipment and help out. But for us to be really going in like how we go in with what they pulled the other day, I am not comfortable that way,” the Lucky Day artist stated.
Added Shaggy: “We not ruling it out either. Its Shaggy and Friends; I am just the face of a bunch of people. We have a board you know. But what they did, didn’t just hurt me; it hurt them (board members) at the same time, and they felt slighted also. So, if it is a situation where everybody sit down and feel like we are im the space and its the right feel and the right timer and the right motivation to do it, then maybe. But in the meanwhile we do what we can at this point just to help out where we can.”