Marubeni donates US$30,000 to SOS Children’s Villages in Hurricane Melissa recovery effort

One hundred and twenty-two children are one step closer to going home.

That was the quiet promise behind a cheque handover ceremony held at SOS Children’s Villages Jamaica in Stony Hill on April 29, when Marubeni presented a US$30,000 donation to the organisation — funding that will make possible the full restoration of the Barrett Town, Montego Bay Village that Hurricane Melissa rendered uninhabitable.

Marubeni’s donation addresses those losses across seven priority areas, covering everything from kitchen appliances and bedroom furnishings to plumbing, electrical infrastructure, hygiene supplies, and transitional psychosocial support for children navigating storm-related trauma and displacement.

For Mo Majeed, Managing Director of Caribbean Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Marubeni Power International, the decision to support these 122 kids was straightforward. “We are impressed by the family unit approach that SOS Children’s Villages utilises,” he said. “This donation is directed entirely toward what the Village has identified as its most pressing needs, and we are proud to assist in this effort. These children deserve to have their sense of safety and normalcy restored at the Barrett Town facility.”

Marubeni selected SOS Children’s Villages Jamaica from among five organisations reviewed for post-disaster support — a process that underscored both the scale of need following Melissa and the rigour with which the company approached its response.

Sharon Lake, Board Chair of SOS Children’s Villages Jamaica, received the cheque on behalf of the organisation. “The damage caused by Hurricane Melissa was profound,” she said. “Support of this kind allows us to focus on what matters most — restoring a stable, nurturing environment for every child in our care.”

It was Marcia Spencer, House Mother for the Barrett Town Village, who gave the moment its most human dimension. “After Hurricane Melissa, many of our children lost their sense of safe space,” she said in her vote of thanks. “Your compassion reminds them that there are people who truly care about their future. Thank you for bringing the light back into our children’s lives.”

SOS Children’s Villages Jamaica provides long-term residential care for vulnerable children, offering shelter, education, healthcare, nutrition, emotional support, and community. For the children of Barrett Town, it is not simply a facility — it is home.

It is a commitment that extends well beyond this moment. Marubeni has been a partner in Jamaica’s energy future for more than a decade, building infrastructure, yes, but also investing in the island’s people. For a company whose work is measured in megawatts and long-term contracts, the April 29 ceremony was a reminder that the communities they power are more than a market. They are a responsibility.