MTV presents a one-hour special documenting the recent journey to Africa of Bono, 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 generate increased U.S. financial support for the African continent.

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

The special visits a village in Uganda where the group has an unforgettable encounter at the home of Eleanor, who is dying of AIDS, and her teenage daughter Mabel. Mabel forges a special bond with Bono, and gives the group a tour around her village.

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

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

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

The documentary also offers the two college students a glimpse into the everyday lives of their African counterparts, as the group visits a typical high school in Ethiopia, a conservative country where open discussion of sex is taboo. The program captures a school assembly in which students stage a rare performance addressing AIDS prevention.

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

'Diary of Bono and Chris Tucker: Aiding Africa' premieres on MTV on October 9 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