Andrew Hebden is Assistant Editor (Business) of The Journal »
Matt James runs fingerprint-recognition technology firm UKB Security »
James Mills is a web developer in the North East of England and founder of Refresh Teesside »
Phil Renton is managing director of North East IT empire Croft »
Andrew Mernin is the Digital Journalist for nebusiness »
Matthew Rippon is an IP lawyer for BHP Law »
Formerly editor of a national business lifestyle magazine, Jez Davison is a business writer for the Evening Gazette in Teesside »
Ian Brown, Northumberland farmer and businessman writes about the agricultural industry »
Accessibilty Champion Steve Wilkinson on the importance of inclusion »
Shared Interest Staff at Newcastle's fair trade firm blog on their latest international missions »
PR man David Honeywell on raising your profile in the right places »
Marion Bernard is from NorthStar Equity Investors »
Paul Williamson is from Deloitte »Yes, the Internet connection has yet again thrown my blogs into disarray!
If I could take you back to last Thursday, as I set off on my six hour journey into the South African bush....
My mind wandered back to the drama of my Swaziland send-off. I think I had blocked it out until now.
Because quite the send-off it was. I literally left in a flurry of flames!
As if Swaziland didn't have enough to tend to. The 14 fires reported as I left will have devastating effects on an already struggling nation.
After being hit by wild wind, and combined with the hot dry climate of the Swazi summer, Malkern (the area in which I was staying) had not escaped the blaze.
I opened my door on that day of departure to find that the whole place was smouldering, explaining the lack of electricity and Internet access (which, again has led to the inconsistent timing of my blogs - sorry!)
As I travelled to Swaziland airport there were people in tears, literally watching their lives go up in smoke.
A million thoughts ran through my head at that point. Where would they find the money to rebuild their homes? How would they survive after an entire season's crops were lost overnight?
And most of all I think: What could I do to help?
Swaziland, like many other countries, faces natural disasters on a regular basis: drought, wild fires and flash floods.
However, unlike many other parts of the world, the majority of the population has no safety net and no one to turn to when disaster strikes.
Making an average of £1 a day does not enable you to save and plan for the future.
As I left the country in one of its small propeller planes, my view out of the window reconfirmed the importance of Shared Interest's work.
If we can ensure that people have a livelihood, then they have something to catch them when they fall.
People would be able to save up and rebuild their homes and buy food, giving them some time to replant seeds and wait for their crops to grow.
Without this safety net, their options are to sit and wait for help.
Trade - not aid - is a slogan that we hear often now, as people want to work and trade their way to a better life.
And as I travel on through the bush here in Kruger, I decide that it is aid that is the real smokescreen; while trade enables people to rise again from the ashes whenever disaster strikes.
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