Five Mississippi higher education schools will receive $7.7 million to help with recovery from Hurricane Katrina, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott said Wednesday.

Lott, R-Miss., said the money comes from Katrina relief donations contributed through 27 foreign governments.

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. State Department confirmed the individual allotments.

“The list of foreign governments giving specifically toward rebuilding hurricane damaged schools is a diverse array of nations, some of with which Americans have significant political, cultural and philosophical differences.

“However, just as we saw during the recent tsunami in Asia, these generous contributions reaffirm that beyond our differences lies a common link of humanity that binds all people together, especially when we experience natural disasters,” Lott said in a statement.

The allotments are:

— University of Southern Mississippi, $4.3 million.

— William Carey College, $1.8 million.

— Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, $968,916.

— Pearl River Community College, $524,808.

— Jones Junior College, $125,000.

The U.S. State Department received the donations and transferred them to the U.S. Department of Education for administration to educational facilities.

Nations who contributed include China, Azerbajan, Bahrain, Japan, Bahamas, Gabon, Bangladesh, Angola, Malta, Brunei, Afghanistan, UAE, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, Taiwan, Lebanon, Yerevan, Bosnia Herzegovina, Nigeria, Ghana, Fiji, Palau, Botswana, Cyprus, South Korea and Djibouti.