Bonnie Raitt to appear at fairgrounds benefit

Special guests Bonnie Raitt, Wahu Kaara and Oliver Mtukudzi will help celebrate the 2009 Hands Across Borders event “One Night, One World,” from 6 to 10 p.m. Nov. 7 in Wyland Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Benefiting the work of San Diego’s Project Concern International (PCI), the gala will celebrate the women of Africa who stand as the important agents of social transformation on the continent.

Guests will enjoy an evening of culture and philanthropy featuring authentic cuisine, extraordinary entertainment and market items fresh from the continent of Africa.

During the event, PCI’s chairman of the board, Ambassador Kevin Moley, will present Wahu Kaara of Kenya with the 2009 PCI Humanitarian Award. Kaara, a global social justice activist and founding coordinator of the Kenya Debt Relief Network, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for her work on behalf of women’s rights.

Singer/songwriter and social activist Bonnie Raitt will present the 2009 Cultural Ambassador Award to this year’s recipient, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, an international musician and best-selling artist in his home country of Zimbabwe and throughout the world. Mtukudzi will also entertain the 800 guests that are expected to attend this celebration.

To buy tickets or tables, visit www.ProjectConcern.

org.