African Diary, MTV Next Wednesday

03 Oct 2002
African Diary MTV Next Wednesday
African Diary MTV Next Wednesday
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MTV presents a one-hour special documenting the recent journey to Africa ofBono, Chris Tucker, US Treasury Sec Paul O'Neill and two college students.

Premiering on October 9 at 10PM (ET/PT), 'Diary of Bono and Chris Tucker:Aiding Africa' follows the students as they join Bono's campaign to generateincreased U.S. financial support for the African continent.

With MTV cameras in tow, Bono, Tucker, O'Neill, and twenty-year-olds HeatherTatarski and Vernon Taylor travel through Ethiopia and Uganda, where Savethe Children, one of the world's leading development and relief bodies, hasarranged visits to villages, organizations and private homes. Everywherethey go the group is touched deeply by the spirit and energy of the peoplethey meet, as they are greeted with smiles, open arms, song, and dance. Butthey soon see beneath the joyous and colorful façade to the darker realitiesof poverty and AIDS that are devastating the continent.

The special visits a village in Uganda where the group has an unforgettableencounter at the home of Eleanor, who is dying of AIDS, and her teenagedaughter Mabel. Mabel forges a special bond with Bono, and gives the group atour around her village.

More on Mabel and Bono (pictured above) herewww.savethechildren.org

The group also calls on the TASO AIDS Support Organization, the firstindigenous organization in Africa to offer care and support for thoseinfected with HIV/AIDS. The TASO choir < a group made-up entirely of peoplewith HIV/AIDS < treats Bono and his new friends to a special performance.

In addition, the program demonstrates just how much of a differenceinternational financial support can make, as the group visits a number ofprojects that have benefited from debt relief funds. These include theWakiso Water project which provides clean water to 75 households or 420people; and the Missionaries of Charity AIDS hospice, orphanage and shelterwhich provides care and support for over 40,000 HIV/AIDS infected oraffected people monthly.

The documentary also offers the two college students a glimpse into theeveryday lives of their African counterparts, as the group visits a typicalhigh school in Ethiopia, a conservative country where open discussion of sexis taboo. The program captures a school assembly in which students stage arare performance addressing AIDS prevention.

'More than 11 million young people are infected with HIV in sub-SaharanAfrica,' commented Brian Graden, President of Entertainment, MTV. 'While theAIDS epidemic in the United States has reached nowhere near the catastrophicproportions it has in Africa, there is one alarming similarity: in bothAfrica and the U.S., more than half of all new HIV infections occur amongthose under the age of 25. We hope this program drives home the severity ofthis disease for our audience.'

'Diary of Bono and Chris Tucker: Aiding Africa' premieres on MTV on October9 at 10PM (ET/PT).

More on the programme and Bono's trip to Africa, including a slide-show,herewww.savethechildren.org

More on DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade for Africa) herewww.datadata.org

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