Come enjoy music from several groups, including:

• Raisin' Cain (folk with a twist) with Terry Knutson / Rob Miller / Cathy Verdin / Randy Zutter
• Long Way Home (bluegrass/roots) with Steph Crocker (formerly on the Edzimkulu Board) / Jacques Hurabielle / Paul McFarlane / Eric Papsdorf / Randy Zutter
• other vocal/musical performances
• Open mic (registration deadline January 28)
• Poetry
• Raffle for artwork and fairtrade coffee
• Meet the students from the Voices Unite Project
• Speakers and display from Edzimkulu
• Food concession offering snacks, African soup, etc.
• Fair-Trade coffee
• And more!

The coffee house will raise funds to support 6 second-year Social Work students from Red Deer College, who will be working at the Edzimkulu project in the village of Ndawana, South Africa, for 6 weeks this spring. Edzimkulu (see www.Edzimkulu.org) is an Edmonton based Canadian charity established in 2003 to provide support to children affected by AIDS in the Underberg region of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The name Edzimkulu is a combination of Edmonton and the Mzimkhulu River, which runs through the Underberg region of South Africa.

The 6 students from around Alberta (Voices Unite) will work with children who have been orphaned or infected by AIDS, and also with their caregivers and others in the community. Edzimkulu's support to the community includes education, training, healthcare and basic supplies, in a manner that allows children to remain in their own community instead of being institutionalized in orphanages. South Africa currently has a high proportion of children who are not continuously cared for by either parent, and very high rates of care by aunts and grandmothers.

There are nearly a million children under the age of 15 who have been orphaned by AIDS in South Africa. In KwaZulu-Natal approximately 35% of the population, or approx 1 in 3 people, is HIV positive. Some 250,000 South Africans died of AIDS in 2003. That figure is expected to rise to 500,000 per year by 2008. Average life expectancy is expected to fall from about 60 years to around 40 years by 2008. More women than men are infected.

Their work in South Africa will enable the 6 Albertan students to fulfill the practicum requirements for their degree in social work, and will give them a valuable life experience that they will be able to share with other students in their program, and with many other Albertans.

We appreciate your support very much! Thank you.