In October 2018 I have been invited to travel to Rorya District of Tanzania where I will undertake a Church of England Mission. The journey to the village where I will be staying is long and quite arduous, with a large trail to be made cross country by ‘road’. The two biggest problems in Rorya District are hunger and AIDS.

Typically, a Team of five or six travel to a Diocese at the invitation of the Bishop to facilitate retreat conferences for clergy, women’s leaders, youth leaders, congregational leaders, evangelists, catechists and readers. As such I am busy planning and preparing my course input to deliver the requisite theology to Christians in this place. I am very much looking forward to living and working within the community.

There is no electricity or fresh water supply where I will be working and, rather like Jesus walking in the wilderness, I hope I will become renewed in spirit and determination to fight against poverty and injustice. Obviously I will go armed with art materials, books etc however I will also be able to make an assessment of what specific needs exist in the wider and more fundamental sense. In making new friends and contacts I subsequently expect to bring charity direct to source.

I have already paid my travel and airfare costs however I am seeking to equip myself with some of the equipment I will need such as water supplies, food supplies, tropical survival equipment, sleeping materials and medicines etc. Hopefully I will also be able to fund some of my internal logistical effort as well.

To that end, I have started this crowdfund and would be very grateful of any donation you could make, however small. All is welcome and certainly all proceeds will be used to support my effort with any residual going to support those in need.

With most of my friends being ex-servicemen and women, police, military historians, authors, lecturers and guides, as a thank-you to the person who makes the greatest donation, I have decided to give up one of my most prized possessions. This is a picture of HMS HOOD, signed by Ted BRIGGS, one of only three survivors of its WW2 sinking.

Thanks and God bless all

Burge. X.