This is the first time I have written an article for this publication and I should like to tell you all a little about the charity Trade Aid. It was set up in 1996 by a group of people headed by Brian Currie, a Salisbury businessman. The aim of the charity it to create sustainable employment in a village called Mikindani, a deprived and desperately poor part of Tanzania.

The first phase of the project was to renovate a badly decayed but very beautiful German fort, situated on the side of a hill and overlooking the spectacular Mikindani Lagoon. With the help of European experts, local people have restored this building to its former glory, and it is now open as a 6 bedroom, country-house hotel. All the staff are Tanzanian nationals and most are local people from Mikindani and Mtwara, the local town.

Now that this phase of the project is complete, we are concentrating on promoting the hotel and attracting visitors to this beautiful and unspoilt part of Tanzania. Mtwara has an airport and there are scheduled flights six days a week. The airport is 20 minutes from the hotel and guests are collected by the hotel staff.

There is a range of guest activities available such as a guided tour around the historic village of Mikindani, a trip to the Ruvuma River on the Mozambique boarder, snorkelling in the crystal waters of the Mnazi Bay Marine Reserve, or a two-day excursion to the fascinating Rondo Forest Reserve. Some guests may prefer just lazing by the pool at the Old Boma.

Each month we produce a newsletter written by our volunteers working in Mikindani, and I will include some of their news and activities in the next article. This is an item from our January Newsletter written by one of our Gap Year volunteers, Matthew Maddocks.

“Our Christmas at the Boma and in Mikindani was one I will never forget for a number of reasons. In George’s (a fellow volunteer) absence we awoke and had an exquisite breakfast of fresh bread rolls, jam, marmite and English tea. Eggs would have been a choice if Tanesco had been festive and let us have some power! But our palette treats were immediately withdrawn when Mtipa came through with a traditional soup he’d prepared that morning. His present to us was the intestines and internal organs of a goat he had slaughtered that very morning, stewed together! Ian and myself managed a tiny taste but we were all shocked, and playing ‘guess the organ’ was fun, but also highlighted the fact we simply couldn’t eat it all!

The day’s events didn’t really pick up until just after lunch when I slipped into the grotto we had put up in the courthouse and dressed myself in the mock up Santa’s outfit we had made. Dennis had said that it would have been the first time Mtwara region had been visited by Father Christmas and as I expected a few of the visitors were scared silly and ran out again given one glimpse of me! However, overall it was a big success and after asking names, ages, if they had been good, each child was given a gift (including George who had just returned and came to sit on my knee and tell me what a good boy he’d been.) One small Indian boy did ask me for a car however giving that he was 5 and perhaps not ready for such things I gave him 'the even better thing' from my sack!”

I hope some of you will visit The Old Boma, and see this hidden treasure of Southern Tanzania for yourselves. There is more information about the Hotel, the Charity and the project on our website www.mikindani.com The Beetle would just like to add that she visited the Boma, chatted with the staff, had tea by the pool at the Boma, and it is not only fantastic what the charity has achieved, but also the fact that they are genuinely giving something back to the community.