I AM not a seasoned traveller. When, late in January, I found myself on a jumbo jet heading for Dar Es Salaam, I tried to keep an open mind as to what I might find in Africa.

Heat, yes; dust, dirt and poverty: Tanzania is, after all, a Third World country. There is a national minimum wage — 30,000 Tanzanian shillings a month, or about £26, but many of the villagers and peasant farmers do not manage to achieve that, and are simply struggling for survival.

But there is affluence alongside the poverty, there are cool parts as well as those that are hot and humid.

I was constantly delighted by the warmth of the welcome I received wherever I went. The Tanzanians, however poor, are a hospitable and a courteous people, and are eager to practise their English if they possibly can. As I have no Swahili this was often an advantage!

I have sat in the mud hut of a village evangelist and the well-appointed home of a factory manager, and been equally welcome in both.

To begin with I was very startled by the need for many people to have security guards at their homes, metal grilles at their windows. The problem is that many of the Tanzanians are so poor that it is easy for them to succumb to temptation. I was warned to be careful if I ventured into African markets, not to take too much money with me, not to wear jewellery, but not once did danger arise.

My reason for going to Tanzania was very specific: to be present at the consecration of my elder brother as Bishop of South West Tanganyika.

A small group of us went out from England for this purpose, and we were treated as honoured guests throughout the proceedings.

As the service lasted all morning, and the party that followed lasted all afternoon, we certainly felt as though we had been to something worth celebrating!

To get to Njombe, where my brother lives, we had to travel from the heat of Dar Es Salaam away into the interior of the country and up into the mountains.

It was a beautiful journey, through a wildlife game reserve and with stunning scenery all around us; although we were able to travel on a metalled road rather than a mud track, it still took us over 12 hours. At least we had a day in hand before the consecration.

My brother's standing in the community is high; in fact, so well is he waited on that he despairs of getting any exercise!

But this is Africa, and the diocese has had no Bishop for three years. There are many problems, financial, pastoral and administrative to be resolved. Church-going is important in Tanzania; nearly half the country is Moslem, but Anglicans, Lutherans and Roman Catholics all have large congregations.

Africa shows our Western worries in an entirely different perspective. We may feel inconvenienced by an interruption to our water supply, or a power cut. To many people there these are simply a fact of life. For those fortunate enough to have electricity power cuts happen frequently, and many people, not only the poorest, have no running water.

When it does run, of course, it is not safe to drink, and must be boiled and filtered.

A 'bath', African style, can often mean two buckets of water, one hot, one cold, and a plastic mug to sluice yourself with. The water will have been heated on an open fire outside.

Tanzania is a vibrant, fertile country with an engaging people and a wealth of opportunity. There is poverty, but there is also laughter and a zest for life.

To provide for these people and lift them out of their poverty required a rare vision and dedication.

Fortunately, there are many people willing to do precisely that.

l Pictured with Bishop Michael Westall are his sisters Liz Pritchard (left), Felicity Barnaby, and his wife Punitha (right).