FATHER RICHARD HO-LUNG JOINS SHAGGY & FRIENDS!

 (From left) Drummer Sly Dunbar, keyboardist Steven ‘Lenky’ Marsden, singer Tarrus Riley, Father Richard Ho Lung and Shaggy at Anchor Studio in St Andrew yesterday. (Photos: Naphtali Junior)—–

WHILE Jamaica is locked in preparation for American President Barack Obama’s one-day visit, Shaggy assembled some of his colleagues for a worthy cause at the Anchor Studio in Kingston.

The team, which comprised singer Tarrus Riley, drummer Sly Dunbar, keyboardist Steven ‘Lenky’ Marsden, and singer Chevaughn added the finishing touches to Rise Up, a song by Roman Catholic priest Father Richard Ho Lung.

The track, produced by Dunbar and bass player Robbie Shakespeare, is part of Ho Lung’s musical, King David, which is scheduled for the National Arena in St Andrew on May 9 and 10, and May 16 and 17.

“I got a call from Father Ho Lung. He wanted me to help him raise some awareness… and with the awareness comes donors and more people get involved,” Shaggy told the Jamaica Observer.

“Even though I knew the work that Father Ho Lung was doing with the Missionaries of the Poor, it was not until I went down there that I realised how big it was. It’s huge. You’re looking at everybody in Jamaica that nobody wants, he takes. The mothers with AIDS, the kids with Down Syndrome, the homeless people and the ones with mental illness, they’re all there. They have their meals and medication and he monitors that,” he continued.

Ho Lung, 76, said apart from government support, the lion’s share of money needed to care for the nearly 700 wards in his care come from fund-raising efforts, primarily the annual musical.

Riley said he is pleased to be part of the project.

“I got involved because of Shaggy. He called me and said he wanted me to help in raising awareness to what Father Ho Lung was doing. It’s a good thing for Jamaica and I like the cause,” he said.

Chevaughn, who did backup vocals, said it is not the first time he is working with Father Ho Lung.

“I’ve been performing with Father Ho Lung and Friends since 2001. I was in several musicals including Yes, Amazing Grace, Jesus 2000 Reprise, and Moses,” he said