On a particularly warm and humid Christmas Eve Santa
Claus came back to Mikindani for the third year running.
Returning volunteer to the Trade Aid project Matt Maddocks
once again donned the red robe, festive hat and fake beard
to bring some excitement to the children of Mikindani. This
time around, the Bedford army truck was adapted to become
his sleigh by the decorative efforts of Emmanuel at the
Boma. As we set off for an afternoon tour of the village,
everything seemed quiet… was about to change.

The sleigh ride was accompanied by the sound of cheesy
Tanzanian pop music and, having rented the most powerful
sound system south of Dar, children all over heard us
coming and came running. There were handfuls of sweets for
the children, who followed the sleigh as it made its way
around Mikindani and then headed on into Mtwara. Many of
them broke into spontaneous dance-mode when we approached.
As we made our way down to the far end of town I saw a
large woman wade through the throng of children like a
massive battering ram, take off her headscarf and try to
use it as a net to catch all of the sweets. We tried to
avoid her reach to get some sweets to the little ones, but
she clearly had to satisfy her sugar fix and blighted our
generosity for a few minutes. The atmosphere was jubilant
and everyone was waving and laughing. Matt was relishing
the role and the sight of him dancing on the back of the
truck in front of hundreds of people is one I will not soon
forget. When he then turned his back and proceeded to shake
his derriere in true African style there were screams of
delight and laughter from the crowd.

We went up the main road towards the boatyard, before
looping round to Jangwani Street by the fish market. In
this densely populated area the number of kids swelled and
we had more than six hundred people following the sleigh.
We then made our way towards the market and veered off to
Haikata, where we were briefly attacked by a swarm of bees
(not from the Boma hive!) before returning to Bomani
Street. We passed the Trade Aid house and made our way in
to Mtwara from there. Apart from subsequently breaking down
in Mtwara whilst dressed like a bunch of prats, the event
was a complete success. It was great PR, although, it being
in Mikindani with a majority Muslim population, I did hear
people asking each other what the significance of a
‘fat red bloke with a beard’ was. Matt was the
star of the show and he pulled off a great performance; one
that, dancing in front of so many people, most of us
pusillanimous souls could only muster after three triple
whiskeys and a jug of Stella. It was a great day for all
and no doubt the children of Mikindani will look forward to
the event next year…

For more information about Trade Aid, volunteers and
their work, please visit their website: www.mikindani.com