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Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

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Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#161

Post by Neil44 »

madradavid wrote: post #126

I am Ugandan. I've shipped electronics and Laptops for Work quite a bit, and OP is right, the system is broken, it stays this way because a lot of corrupt individuals benefit from this mess. However, OP showed a degree of Hubris here, a mistake lots of us make when dealing with foreign countries, just because it works this way here, so it should work that way in XYZ. OP would have saved themselves lots of time and mo…

We have a customer with a business in Uganda, we just give her the laptops and she physically takes them with her next time she goes there.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#162

Post by rock_artist »

Mail and shipping is tedious to begin with. Recently I've sent some hoodies and shirts to colleagues.

Everything is within the EU.

For sending few shirts I ended up paying about EUR20 each just for shipping! (I've wanted to ensure it gets to their house and not a pickup point).

Initially I've went with regular post office, but they've wanted so many documents I've used a 3rd party shipping company.

It always ends with compliance and regulations which shipping companies are being (and charging you) for.

It's crazy that things from china can come at ridiculous price or Amazon in specific region/countries and they 'hacked the system'.

We also had similar headache when my wife forgot her bag (with her work laptop!) on a train to the airport back home while visiting my parents in our home country. The bag was found and my parents took it. but sending it ended up being so complex we eventually found someone kind enough to travel with it. (or you need to have so complex procedures just to explain why it shouldn't be taxed as it's YOUR equipment).

TL;DR - personal shipping is broken. it might be cheaper to visit a friend in Uganda and give him the laptop in person.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#163

Post by sofixa »

madradavid wrote: post #126

I am Ugandan. I've shipped electronics and Laptops for Work quite a bit, and OP is right, the system is broken, it stays this way because a lot of corrupt individuals benefit from this mess. However, OP showed a degree of Hubris here, a mistake lots of us make when dealing with foreign countries, just because it works this way here, so it should work that way in XYZ. OP would have saved themselves lots of time and mo…

> However, OP showed a degree of Hubris here, a mistake lots of us make when dealing with foreign countries, just because it works this way here, so it should work that way in XYZ.

Why would you think it's hubris? People know what they know, and extrapolate. If all you've ever known is streets with numbers for each unit being used for giving directions, you'll probably assume it's the standard. So you wouldn't even know to think "hey, do other countries use something else?". So a Costa Rican "300 meters south of where the church used to be" would be a surprise, and you'd only know it if you've been there / researched it / someone told you.

Yhere are things part of your daily life you don't even question why they're like this and if they can be another way or are indeed different in other countries.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#164

Post by petertodd »

liotier wrote: post #150

This is not how it works. My partner is Ugandan, we live in France - I'm used to ship to various countries in Africa. Never use the "regular" post - it is just as OP described. Don't use high-end couriers (DHL, Fedex etc.) either - very expensive for scant value added. Do what every local does: use one of the innumerable grey market freight forwarders. One way or the other (for a typical "line haul" example, they ent…

I've done some military charity work in Ukraine, getting donations from people in my community and ensuring that money gets turned into vehicles and equipment reaching soldiers that I personally know in Eastern Ukraine. Just a small "hobby" really, not on a big scale; I'm certainly not a charity professional.

On multiple occasions I've shipped things with the Nova Poshta service to units very close to the front line. In some cases they're getting picked up at Nova Poshta shipping outlets so close to the front lines that FPV drones are a genuine risk.

It just works. Nova Poshta has a nice app. There's complete and accurate tracking, you can easily redirect shipments on the fly to different locations and even different people, and they have package lockers everywhere. The staff are very friendly and go above and beyond to help out. I once showed up at a Kyiv branch with four used truck tires covered with mud, without any packaging, and said I needed to get them to a unit in Sloviansk, a town 20kms from the front lines. They handled everything for me for the equivalent of ~$30 and they showed up the next day.

If Ukraine can manage shipping at scale in the middle of a war, WTF is Africa doing? Why do you have to rely on sketchy shit like trusting random airline passengers getting some extra cash on the side? You can't have a modern economy without good shipping services.

I'm reminded of the time I visited both Kyiv and South Africa in Febuary 2024... Cape Town and Johannesburg had more scheduled blackouts than Kyiv, even with Russia actively trying to destroy the electricity grid. The GDP/capita of South Africa is higher than Ukraine!

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#165

Post by nekzn »

kuerbel wrote: post #108
ajsnigrutin wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EU just implemented a new customs tax law that will be coming to member states on july 1st. Until now, items below 150eur (bought by private citizens) were not a subject to customs, and some time ago not even for VAT if below 22eur. From july 1st, it's becoming painful, in slovenia for example, 3eur per TARIC code + customs fee + vat. So, for example you go on alixpress, you buy a silicone phone case for 1eur, a scre…

Local sellers absolutely get shafted by cheap subsidised stuff from China. It creates a fairer environment. It also discourages ultra-cheap overconsumption, reduces counterfeit and unsafe products entering the market. You might not like it but there are good reasons for it. I'm not saying it's perfect, it's not how I would have done it if I was a benevolent dictator, but there are good reasons for it.

All local sellers do is buy the stuff from China and stick a huge markup on it. That’s what they did in the past before the days of AliExpress. It benefits the wealthy, in spite of the poor, like everything these days. It’s not something to be celebrated.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#166

Post by _notreallyme_ »

madradavid wrote: post #126

I am Ugandan. I've shipped electronics and Laptops for Work quite a bit, and OP is right, the system is broken, it stays this way because a lot of corrupt individuals benefit from this mess. However, OP showed a degree of Hubris here, a mistake lots of us make when dealing with foreign countries, just because it works this way here, so it should work that way in XYZ. OP would have saved themselves lots of time and mo…

While I mostly agree with what you say, the thing is Django was probably asked what was the best way to ship the laptop, but he probably just didn't know :

- he is from neighboring DRC, not Ugandan;

- based on his description of his travels, he lives in the overwhelmed Kyaka II camp, and was probably recently displaced due to the M23 campaign;

- he was probably already enrolled in the course before being displaced, so a young full-time student, probably not even aware of how the system work in his origin country.

My bet is that he just said to ship it to a drop location in Kampala and that he would find a way to get there to retrieve it.

In the end, the Hubris was probably not on OP's side, but on Django's side, thinking he could get a laptop shipped to him while avoiding entirely the camp's organization. Although he did manage it after all...

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#167

Post by sofixa »

oefrha wrote: post #89
lexandstuff wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

~$200 doesn't go as far as you'd expect for good used laptop, even in Uganda. We did look into our options. However, there's definitely a sunk cost aspect to the operation. After the first failure to send it through Australia Post, I became determined that Django was going to have that MacBook.

Wait, how the hell can Australia Post charge you the full AUD 111.60 for a failed shipment when it seems to be the fault of the clerk who approved the shipment against their own rules? And sounds like the package didn’t even leave Australia so even if you should pay for the full mileage it would be 20% at most?

Nah, it's the fault of the sender, all the ruled for what you can send are listed and it's up to you to check and respect them.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#169

Post by mft_ »

po1nt wrote: post #133
fvdessen wrote: post #24

I help a good friend run a small business in Africa, and this story is exactly why, every time I go visit, I fill my luggage with stuff she needs. Laptops, car engine turbos, espresso machines, fryers, bottles of shampoo, printers, anything. The cheapest and most reliable way to deliver things there is to take a plane yourself and carry the things with you. This whole mess is why, despite being a poor continent, the…

Car engine turbo? Can I get a photo of that packing?

Turbos for typical car engines aren't huge - roughly the size of a medium melon, give or take.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#170

Post by sammy2255 »

x3ro wrote: post #145
sammy2255 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Ah yes, the "barbarians" couldn't possibly manage delivering a packet by themselves, after having their country looted for centuries (ongoing). There's no doubt this laptop would've been delivered frictionlessly if Uganda had never suffered under colonial rule :) And who knows what the UK would be like..

[flagged]
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