It has been nearly four years since I was last in Mikindani, Southern Tanzania, and six years since my initial involvement with Trade Aid, so to be able to return and see the changes to the village and its inhabitants is a real privilege. Of course, being Africa, the changes are slow to come about, and much of the “progress” is in areas that I would never even have considered.

Seeing the Boma, (see photo by the Beetle,) now a fully restored small hotel is even more amazing than any of the photos I had seen, such a dramatic transformation from the derelict building here on my arrival, which was only just nearing completion when I returned for the millennium festivities. It now stands in grounds surrounded by all manner of vibrant vegetation, attracting varied animal life – from butterflies to lizards to the occasional monkey.

As the various groups of volunteers have ventured further into the depths of Mikindani, new places to visit have been discovered while it would appear that some of the old haunts have been forgotten. Maybe our fickle tastes mean that even here, where the choices for evening entertainment are limited, there are places to be seen, as well as those that have fallen from favour.

Perhaps the most surprising addition to the village and the area in general is the curse of the mobile phone. Vodaphone and Orange have spread their wings wide enough to mean there is just no escaping contact from the outside world. Not that I should complain too much, as without a phone I would not have been able to keep up to date with the rugby scores as they unfolded! Internet cafes have sprung up in Mtwara, the “information highway” is now fully accessible, while rutted mud tracks still link adjacent villages.

Some things have however, remained the same: the beauty of the village, the smiling faces on the children, the overwhelming generosity in the face of poverty, the sounds, the smells (some of them anyway!). It is these things, and countless more, that combine to continue drawing me, and many others, back. It will hopefully not be too long before I am able to return and see the next stage of evolution.

For more information about Trade Aid, their work or being a volunteer in Mikindani, see: http://www.tradeaiduk.org/ or if you would like to stay at the Boma Hotel, see: http://www.mikindani.com/accommodation.html The Beetle can recommend it as a wonderful experience.

Top 10 Countries by Murder by Capita of Population   Ã¯Ã‚¿Ã‚½ Country Description Amount  1. Colombia 0.63 per 1000 people   2. South Africa 0.51 per 1000 people   3. Jamaica 0.32 per 1000 people   4. Venezuela 0.32 per 1000 people   5. Russia 0.19 per 1000 people   6. Mexico 0.13 per 1000 people   7. Lithuania 0.10 per 1000 people   8. Estonia 0.10 per 1000 people   9. Latvia 0.10 per 1000 people   10. Belarus 0.09 per 1000 people

Continuing for this table: in 11th Place, Ukraine, 12th, Papua New Guinea, 13th, Kyrgyzstan, 14th, Thailand, 15th, Moldova. 16th, Zambia, 17th, Seychelles,ï¿Â½ 18th, Zimbabwe, 19th, Costa Rica, 20th, Poland.ï¿Â½

The USA appears in 24th position at 0.04, Canada, 44th with 0.01 and the UK in 46th position with 0.01 per 1,000 people respectively.

The top five countries with the least number of murders per 1,000 head of population appear to be Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Hong Kong and Greece.

Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Murders/Per-capita

Many people write in to ask us about how they go about finding information on volunteering overseas. The following link is an excellent resource which allows you to say what type of volunteering programme you’d like to do, e.g. study languages, intern, eco-adventures, then you are taken to a screen to input preferred regions and country (if you have a preference), type of volunteering and duration. Take a look at: http://www.volunteerabroad.com/search.cfm

In the meantime, here are a couple of volunteer positions in Quito, Ecuador and another in Ghana.

Santa Martha Rescue Centre in Quito, Ecuador is a sanctuary for animals rescued from traffickers and other poor circumstances. Volunteers can care for wild animals confiscated from illegal zoos, homes and other illegal situations. The work includes gathering food for the animals, feeding, cleaning and repairing cages, building new cages, landscaping cages to make them more like the animal’s natural habitat, assisting in the rehabilitation of animals for liberation and medical care of sick or injured animals, as well as the transport of animals. The more exceptional duties include animal rescue missions, aided with the help of the police. If you are interested, email: santamartha@mail.com for more information.

Hosteria San Jorge Ecolodge located outside Quito, Ecuador is a former traditional Ecuadorian farm, now focusing on conservation. The Hosteria has over 25 rooms and facilities for conferences and a botanical reserve of over 30 hectares that is being used for conservation purposes. The Hosteria offers hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding and mountain biking on both the Reserve and surrounding areas. The Hosteria is in the process of replanting native species and identifying all native birds of the Reserve. It has a range of needs from helping to identify birds species, cataloguing native plants and trees, helping to develop and implement eco-tourism projects, physical improvements to the grounds, biological research projects, assisting with guests, assisting with tours and administering the web site. Projects will be developed with the skills of the volunteer and the time they can offer. Volunteers will be expected to work 8 hours per day. www.eco-lodgesanjorge.com. Email them.

Cultural exchange, home stay, small group general tours, traditional drumming and dances, teaching assistant, environmental preservation opportunities and many more for a period of 4 to 52 weeks in Ghana. ebensten@yahoo.com or see our website: World Voices

We are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of Mac reminiscences about some of his travels around India in 1992.

One of the joys of travelling for me by rail in India second class air conditioned was that I met so many fellow Indian travellers. There is something about long train rides that people tell you stories they perhaps would not if they thought they would see you again. ï¿Â½The High Sheriff of Calcutta told me of some of his dealings with Nehru. ï¿Â½When Nehru would bring VIPs to Calcutta it was part of the High Sheriffs job to kind of be a tour guide. ï¿Â½He told me that Nehru was a woman chaser and made some amazing conquests. ï¿Â½I don’t know if this is true or the High Sheriff was trying to impress me. One story he told was of a world famous violinist and his wife that Nehru was showing around the horticulture gardens or park. He told the wife that he wanted to show her something and took her with him away from the High Sheriff and the husband. The High Sheriff told me he was furious with Nehru for leaving him to distract the husband. Have you seen this plant Sir etc.

According to him Nehru did a lot for the country but also a lot for Indian women. Maybe he was imitating our President Kennedy and maybe this was all gossip.

Some of the Indians liked to gossip. ï¿Â½Another Indian told me that Nehru and Mountbatten’s wife had something going. More gossip?ï¿Â½ The lady architect that I met when I asked her if she had trouble getting architectural work as a lady architect told me that most of the architectural jobs she got was from family friends.

The Indian Army officer I met on train who later showed me around Agra was a Sikh. There are many Sikhs in the Indian Army. While Sikhs in the Indian Army can wear their turbans, beards etc this Sikh for some reason did not. I don’t know why he was the exception. He told me that those in the Indian Army get more leave than we do. He said this was because some had to travel great distances to get back to their home.

I seemed to be always meeting Indian Military on the trains.ï¿Â½ One asked me what unit I had been in in WWII. ï¿Â½I told him that he probably would not have heard of it as we did not get much publicity and disbanded after the War. So when I did tell him he laughed and said: “Oh in training we studied your mistakes!” I did not know that we were that well known or that we made mistakes. Ha!

One of the reasons I preferred 2nd class air-conditioned to First Class was that I felt it was safer. In First Class, the conductors seemed to disappear and in one case religious pilgrims came aboard without tickets and took over the compartments. It was their country, and I was not going to argue with them. In 2nd Class air conditioned the fellow travellers seemed to kind of look after me. ï¿Â½Kind of adopted me. ï¿Â½And I heard some fascinating stories. ï¿Â½Whether they were true of not, I don’t know, but it made the time go faster.ï¿Â½ I at first did not know that you were suppose to order your meals ahead of time and somewhere down the line at a future train stop they were brought aboard. ï¿Â½I always ordered vegetarian meals as I did not trust the meat. When some Indian travellers found out that I did not know the ropes on this so several ordered for me not letting me know and they did not know others had also ordered so at the next stop coolies came with several trays of meals for me. Ha!

They had a ring on the floor and the Indians carried small chains and padlocks that they attached their luggage to these rings when they were asleep. I was constantly learning from them. I actually got letters from some I met on the train that I received later in the States and one Army Indian Colonel later came to the Pentagon and phoned out here but I did not get the message until it was too late. He was a Lawler and a Sikh and he had made me an honorary Sikh.

If you would like to contact Mac, he is happy to answer e-mails: macsan400@yahoo.com

As soon as we got the plane in Tokyo we were off to Narita to see the temples. Did some intense travelling for the next three days in Tokyo including Nikko and Kamakura. Nikko is a wonderful mystical place. The bad news is that I don’t have any pictures of it as it was too misty and, horror of horrors, my camcorder battery was flat – after many years this nightmare came true! -but this only adds magic to the place. I started using the bullet train on a Monday and we have no time to stop and doodle about so we have got to make everyday count, as the seven day pass rounds out on Sunday.

Then went to Hiroshima and visited the peace dome memorial by moonlight after we got into town around 9 pm. Made an early morning start the next day, around 6.30 am and went to Miyajima island which has the floating gate as shown in thousand of pictures as poster of Japan. I wanted to take to Nagasaki, but there was not enough time because there are no bullet trains to get there. We will now go to Kagoshima and check out the volcanoes there. It’s worth knowing that there is free internet access at the Hiroshima international convention peace centre. I have to be in Kyoto by Sunday night when the rail pass runs out.

I adore this place – loos (washrooms) everywhere, spotlessly clean and fast and frequent trains and escalators that simply work. We experienced the rush hour in Tokyo and it is not as half as bad as trying to use the Victoria line in London! Living in London prepares you well for Japan and it is much cheaper too!!!

Now on the island of Shikoku. It is fairly rural and not many tourist come this way. We went to Matsumaya on the West coast and got here to Tokushima on the East coast. This is the place to start if you want to do the 88 sacred temple circuit. We have done the first temple and we will do the remaining at another time to reach Nirvana. Shortly leaving for Kyoto and rail passes expires there. I plan to spend my last day in Osaka, looking for electrical bargains. My travelling companion wants an electrically heated loo seat! I am not up on such hi tech comfort gadgets.