Packing again. It seems very boring to write a post about packing yet packing has been all consuming in the past few days. So different from the time we left for Tanzania 3 years ago when we were really travelling into our imaginations, not having any reference for where we were going, yet still pretty scary.


There is one thing I will be doing differently – I won't be bringing presents for the small children that we meet. Nothing I bought last time was relevant; the bouncy balls didn't bounce in the dust or the mud, the stickers were too precious and strange to stick, so many children left the consultation worried by the little gift they were clutching. This time I will accept that gift giving is not my skill and I will stick to prescribing and teaching. BUT if I can find bubbles this morning before I leave I will bring those. On our last trip any time bubbles appeared they were met with such hilarious delight. And they are of the moment, there - and then magically gone, petrol rainbows in the sunshine, causing a dancing swirl of chasing, thrilled and laughing children and then run out. Totally useless – only for joy.


What we are packing this time is more heavy duty; computers filled with libraries and homoeopathic remedies filled with potential benefits for the people who receive them. Both those things packing a big punch for the relatively small space they are taking in our bags and the small amount of money it cost to get them together. What a relief to pack up those computers after a month of tripping over them spread all over the house plugged into every available socket having their brains cleaned out and rearranged. Good to go now.


A big THANK YOU to everybody who has made this trip possible. We have received such amazing support. Lots of people have stepped in and done one impossible thing; lent us the lovely room for the fund raising party, sourced computer batteries, found the courier to deliver the computer batteries, given us computers, offered to pick up remedy bottles, donated great prizes for our raffle, given us money, given us computer software, smiled at us!! Instead of being impossible it's been really great. Thank you all.