1989 Contact made, partnership commenced, pen-palling started

1990 Aston Aid fund-raising in school generated 5000 ukp. We sent Makunduchi 4500ukp worth of new books and 500ukp worth of other school equipment including sports gear and balls. We also sent 20 tea chest of good quality second hand books collected from Rotherham schools.

1991 We sent Makunduchi 1000ukp, again generated by Aston Aid for the construction of a chicken farm. We also sent a further 22 tea chests of slightly used textbooks collected from Sheffield schools, along with some calculators.

1992 We sent Makunduchi a further 1000ukp for the conversion of a outhouse in to a library. The library was opened in 1994 by Zanzibar's President. Bernadette Rhodes of Aston school visited Makunduchi on an EPO grant and laid down the foundation of Aston Trade.