Two years ago I held a joint women's event with Emma Moreton, who works with single moms, abandoned and/or cast out by their families. Emma's husband, Glyn, works with orphaned babies (also usually abandoned by desperate young girls) and together they have "tactfully" challenged the social thinking on these "stigmatized" women and these babies without family names.

Incidentally, Emma's parents, Graham and Andrea Horsnell, moved to Summerland, BC, from England several years ago to be closer to their other daughter and her family who also live in Summerland. It was through this connection that I first met Emma.

Since then, Emma and I have corresponded and when she returned to Canada this past Christmas, we met several times to talk about her work, my music, and how we could help each other. Both of us had been thinking of a sponsorship program where women in North America and the UK could sponsor women in Tunisia. Through this sponsorship program, these girls could be trained in hair-dressing, tailoring or weaving, and if needed, given micro-loans to begin small business.

In the past few months, the Tunisian government has approved a shelter for these women and this in itself is amazing progress.

I have had a desire for many years to combine my music with a sponsorship program for women and this newest opportunity has happened very naturally with Emma and her work with these women. While in Tunisia, my plan is to offer three formal concerts in the capital, Tunis, at the British Ambassador's residence, the Canadian Ambassador's residence and at the only authorized, English-speaking church in Tunis, St. George's. Together with Emma, we will also spend some time in southern Tunisia, visiting the new association for single mothers, doing home visits, visiting the home for abandoned babies, meeting the girls being sponsored, meeting the Southern ACT team and holding some informal concerts at several centres. As well, we will be staying for some of the time with a local family.

My return trip home will involve a week-long tour in the UK as Emma and I promote the sponsorship program at several churches through stories and music from my latest CD.

The first fund-raiser for this trip begins on November 2nd with my CD release concert at the Summerland Baptist Church. I invite you to become involved in this musical and humanitarian journey. Donations can be made at my upcoming concerts or through Paypal on my web-site!