Contact: Anthony Horvath, 202-280-7971; Shirley Tucker, shirley@diamondsinthedust.net

MPUMALANGA, South Africa, Jan. 16, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- AIDS and poverty are serious issues on the African continent, but award winning author Shirley Mowat Tucker believes that caring Christians can make a difference.

Tucker's book, "Diamonds in the Dust", tells the tale of Ida Morgan. After her husband was murdered, she was plunged into a suffocating grief. There she would have remained if she had not responded to a cry for help. She soon learns about the plight of orphaned children in her area. They are easy prey, and if they are to receive any help, Ida realizes it will have to come from her.

Tucker explains that opportunities for Christian compassion are everywhere, not just South Africa.

She says, "It takes a horrible event to open Ida's eyes to the plight of those around her. God will show us opportunities to help them, if we will just open our eyes."

"Diamonds in the Dust" isn't written to be a call to action. The book is simply the story that Tucker felt compelled to write. Nonetheless, she knows that the situation she describes in her book is very real. She and her husband, Mark, have taken action, forming a micro-lending charity in South Africa that has since loaned two million dollars to individuals looking to start businesses and improve their situations. The charity, called The Phakamani Foundation, is on the front lines in the war against poverty.

Mark and Shirley travel widely, inviting others to help them help others start their own businesses and achieve financial independence.

The traveling is likely to increase now that Shirley's book has been released. It won first prize in Athanatos Christian Ministry's Christian Novel Contest in 2011. Kirkus Reviews said that "Diamonds in the Dust" has "An addictive storyline that pulls at the reader's social conscience and sense of justice, delivered in an honest, humane manner."

One of the most recent honors that Shirley's book has received is the award of "Five Doves" by The Dove Foundation, a Christian organization that reviews books and movies and evaluates them. It declares the book a "must read' and notes how it shows God at work- by working through His people.

Shirley Tucker is available for interviews at shirley@diamondsinthedust.net. Her website is www.diamondsinthedust.net. To learn more about the Phakamani Foundation, visit www.phakamanifoundation.org