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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

#261

Post by solidasparagus »

l23k4 wrote: post #127
solidasparagus wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Specifically I was talking about this part > "At some point, one man quietly pulled me aside and suggested that if I "gave something," they could help solve the problem more easily.". You can pay that fee/bribe and things will go smoothly. But more generally my thought was that the western idea is that bureaucracy rules are something to be followed and, even if painful, are the path to getting the state to provide th…

>If you want to get goods to someone in Uganda, don't talk to the Australian Post about the rules, talk to a Ugandan importer who knows how to actually work the system that exists in practice. Well, as it turns out, you also need to have sufficient local knowledge on the sending end to ensure that your parcel actually manages to exit the country in the first place.

I don't think that is a real concern.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#262

Post by solidasparagus »

petesergeant wrote: post #143
solidasparagus wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was Django. But he had a very different financial situation. And a potentially fraught one as a refugee and foreigner. I would pay the bribe, but I would try very hard not to put the recipient in a position to have to do so (no criticism to the author).

Django rightly figured out he wasn’t in a hurry and he could just wait it out. The bribe is price discrimination for people who aren’t willing to sit around for a day.

Frankly Django got lucky. It is far more common for import controllers to delay until the costs of delay force you to pay.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#263

Post by fsckboy »

oncallthrow wrote: post #160
user_7832 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For better or worse, "person from 1st world country does what they think helps, based on their worldview - but never asks 3rd world recipient" is unfortunately a very common troupe. (I'm from a 3rd world country and have seen it over and over again.)

It’s “trope”, not “troupe”

it's mostly actors who traffic in tropes, and also actors who travel in troupes... coincidence? i think not

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#264

Post by lovasoa »

petertodd wrote: post #180
liotier wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technology isn't the problem - African developers produce apps just fine. It isn't even local logistics - addresses are being deployed in major cities, and alternative processes work fine elsewhere. The problem is rule of law, or lack thereof. Rule of law is critical infrastructure. Also, South Africa isn't sub-Saharan Africa.

> The problem is rule of law, or lack thereof. Rule of law is critical infrastructure. I agree 100% > Also, South Africa isn't sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed. Which made me even less impressed by my example of power outages. South Africa clearly has a massive political problem with corruption; they have the money and technology to keep the power on.

The details are interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskom#Corruption

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#265

Post by array_key_first »

fvdessen wrote: post #193
solidasparagus wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The NGO delivery channels are privileged because they are charitable. That's why they get to bypass the country's restrictions. You can't open that channel up, the country would object at humanitarian exemptions being used as a backdoor for commercial imports.

What I mean is that they should use the standard commercial channels and use their economical and political channels to make sure they work well so that everyone would profit from having working import systems.

The result of this might be NGO money being used to fund inefficiency or even corruption. By maintaining their own channels, the NGOs can be more certain their funds are being used responsibly. It's possible otherwise local government would take it upon themselves to try to bleed these western NGOs.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#266

Post by WatchdogReset »

codeforafrica wrote: post #50
NicuCalcea wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd wager the most efficient way would be to sell your electronics and donate the proceeds to a local charity that does this at scale and knows its way around local needs and regulations. When I was a kid in Moldova a couple of decades ago, we had a lot of Americans donating their old stuff (electronics, clothes, shoes, even furniture) thinking they're being super helpful. Just had a quick search and it seems to stil…

The lowest price for a working second hand laptop in Uganda is about half a million ugandan shillings, which is about USD130. That gets you a 10 year old second hand model with minimum specs. If you want anything decent, expect to pay at least double. The difficulty of importing and the import taxes are at least part of the reason. In hindsight, sending the money would have saved a lot of trouble, but it would not ha…

Thank you for the answer - I think one the biggest trap is to bring more problem than solution. I am afraid that a some laptops or smartphone that I gave a second life will have almost no value on the second hand market. I will keep offering them locally on market place or charity shops

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#267

Post by WatchdogReset »

NicuCalcea wrote: post #43
WatchdogReset wrote: post #16

I have old electronics, including macbook that I would like to give is there a way or an assiociation to know how ?

I'd wager the most efficient way would be to sell your electronics and donate the proceeds to a local charity that does this at scale and knows its way around local needs and regulations. When I was a kid in Moldova a couple of decades ago, we had a lot of Americans donating their old stuff (electronics, clothes, shoes, even furniture) thinking they're being super helpful. Just had a quick search and it seems to stil…

Thank you for you insight - Probably best is to act locally and or use charity association to be more efficient for other countries. It is sad sometime some people use charity or assiociation to push things that makes the work of the good one even more difficult

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#268

Post by WatchdogReset »

oceanhaiyang wrote: post #19
WatchdogReset wrote: post #16

I have old electronics, including macbook that I would like to give is there a way or an assiociation to know how ?

You could also try your local schools as well. Many children have no access to one.

I will, good idea !

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#269

Post by codeforafrica »

xp84 wrote: post #260
econ wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes it's hard but with things like gold it's pretty obvious.

Who's currently getting a below-market deal on gold from Africa?

A local director of a gold mine here in Tanzania told me that all the profits of the mine go to the owners in China. I don't know how much profit they are making, but if Tanzania as a country does not benefit from the mines then the deal is better than it should be.

Re: Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda

#270

Post by 9x39 »

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..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Uganda

Didn't see any mention of ongoing looting from foreign nations as a source of the corruption.

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