I head back to Tanzania on Saturday for 3 weeks. I’ll be doing much the same as I have done in previous trips. The final week is always such a bore as I have dozens of small tasks to do. The main one amongst them is packing – each year I ask for phones, glasses, cameras and football shirts from friends and each time I ask, I think I have exhausted my supply and yet each time I end up with more than the previous year. This trip is no different. Some friends have put notices up at work and collected on my behalf. I’ve just been given a bag full of goodies from the finance department at Bristol University and last week I was given a huge load of items from the guys in Admissions at UWE.

Another fantastic source is the school my sister teaches at in London. Not only do Our Lady Queen of Heaven ensure my luggage is bursting at the seams, but they also fundraise for the projects in Tanzania. Last weekend 160 people connected to the school met up early in the morning to walk around Richmond Park. The money they raise will be used for the projects in 2014. Without their help I’d find myself kicking my heels for 3 weeks with few resources. The children also collect money through the year and every penny gets put to good use.

Thank you to everyone who has given money or items. I explain to the recipients where it comes from and they are always asking me to thank everybody in the UK and that’s the purpose of this post. I will hopefully get my first proper update on this site in the middle of next week and so be prepared to be bombarded with hundreds of photos and overly verbose writeups.