On the eve of the first anniversary of the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake that demolished Haiti's capital and outlying cities, killed hundreds of thousands of persons and left millions homeless, the United Nations Association of Trinidad and Tobago (UNATT) is presenting a fund-raising event to benefit students and children of Haiti whose lives and continuing education were and still are affected by that earthquake.

CONCERT for the HAITIAN STUDENT: Many • Deserving • Glorious (Anpil • Merite • Bèl), a benefit concert on January 8, 2011 featuring many of this country's most popular and enduring music personalities has as its goals:

1. To mobilize resources for meeting the MDG (Millennium Development Goal) on achieving universal primary education, with specific reference to Haiti in the procurement of quality, value-for-money supplies and materials such as the UNICEF School-in-a-box and its replenishment kit.
2. To contribute to the UWI Haitian Student Fund established to finance the completion of the education of 70 Haitian higher level students at the St. Augustine campus who will return to that land with needed skills in healthcare, administration and infrastructure development. This initiative fall in line with the UNESCO request after the earthquake for "academia to show solidarity" and universities elsewhere to take in Haitian students.
3. To raise awareness of the continuing tragedy in the aftermath of the earthquake one year later in spite of the indifferent global response to disaster after disaster after disaster. In this 21st year of the signing of the Declaration on Convention of Rights of the Child, rallying attention on children in Haiti is also a chance to address larger systemic issues affecting children there.

The potential of live music performances to educate and inspire has been borne out locally and internationally, and experience shows that this is an effective medium for spreading the message of the United Nations. Production One Ltd. will create the three-hour live event from the main stage of the National Academy for the Performing Arts, North (NAPA). Hundreds of patrons will experience this inspirational concert live that is poised to attract top musicians, celebrities, and dignitaries. It is proposed that the Concert will be videotaped for later broadcast locally where that telecast will serve as a telethon to a potential local audience in the thousands for further fund-raising activity. The telecast also serves to make the performances and messages available to young people and to those who don't have traditional access to such events.

The confirmed artists to date are:

• Ella Andall; www.ellaandall.com
• Glenda Collens and Medea; www.medea.co.tt
• Jeunes Agape;
• The SONGBIRDS™:
  • Brenda Butler,
  • Vaughnette Bigford, www.vaughnettebigford.com/ and
  • Kelli Griffith of 2Ntrigue. www.2ntrigue.com/
• Dave Marcellin and the Jazz All Stars;
• And special surprise guests, and MORE TO COME

For more, please read the press release here.