I hope you all will join me in welcoming Jean to O'net. Some of you that have followed the Gardens of Hope project might remember her from some of the videos we've posted. She is a Peace Corps volunteer that worked at the Tsepong Clinic in Lesotho for two years. We are hoping to engage her assistance in getting this shipment through. Welcome O'board Jean!

Welcome Jean. Any friend of Meron, GoH, and SOLID is a friend here.

Hello all! Thanks for all of the warm welcomes!

It is true.. I will be heading to Lesotho.. timeframe is looking to be 3April- May15. I'm happy to help with any shipments whether it be on this end or in Lesotho. Not a problem. I'm only bringing a few things so I can lug about 50 pounds over but.. tricky thing is that I am in the UK and will be going straight from here. Hmmm..

Anyways, let me know how I can assist. Look forward to working with you all!

Jean

Perfect timing! Anna and Beth's schedule has them in Lesotho from April 1st to the 15th. Keep checking in here and we'll let you know how you can help.

Sounds like we'll all be gathering at the Hotel Leribe!!! Beth and I hope to have a cell phone in Africa so that we are easily in contact. Will keep in touch with this thread also. Great to know Dr. J is around Jean, I have enlisted his help in distributing some of the more specialized medical supplies...see list below from Ray:

Everything is in big boxes with multiple smaller cases in side, a full pick up load.

Disposable surgical staplers, Disposable trocar and sleeve with safety shield,

Soft tissue anchor system,

Latex gloves, x Ray detectable sponges, IV needles all different sizes, Face tent adults, catheter bags, Blood collection tubes, Peritoneal dialysis trays, endo clips 10mm, Anti siphon extension sets, Auto suture premium plus ceea, Sterile Mammo plasti, Surgical drapes, Regular luer syringes with tip caps, Chlora scrub alcohol swab sticks, B D insyte cutleter ?, Cassette collection boxes, Test strips for blood glucose, Iohexol injection 76%, Disposable collection sets, Puncture guard winged set blood collection and intravenous, Germicide cloth, Surgical needles, Latex powder free surgical gloves,

There is more next week, along with wheel chairs, Crutches, Canes and walkers.

Amazing! Let's keep connected on this.

Hotel Leribe.. ahh, such sweet memories. Glad you got in touch with Dr. J. He is a wealth of information, that is for sure! Sounds like Ray organized some great things. Any idea where they are going? Will you have transport there? I'm still debating a car.. but you know.. finances and all. Still trying to work out a few things.. but all will come through, I'm sure. Do you have Gary and Andrea's contact info over there? Thanks J.

Beth and I are in the process of figuring out how to get from Swaziland to Lesotho at the beginning of April. Wonder if we should joind forces and rent a car for that time period? Lets talk. Gary and Andrea's number is 078 578 2004

Transfered over from Unbelievable Donation Re: container for Lesotho.

[...] Send it from here showing that it’s for Charity, this is where ADRA Canada plays its important part. We ship through them like I always do and they give us all the proper documentation needed to get the container into these countries, like gift certificates etc. and because they are such a huge NGO and recognized worldwide, it makes it very easy.

Next we find a registered charity in Lesotho to be the recipient of the container, (Meron this is your job!) then I will take the original paper work over with me in the first week of March and work on exemption forms that take a full 21-day to receive. [...]

Jean, any suggestions on a registered charity in Lesotho we could approach to be the recipient of the container?

Tricky one. Does it have to be a charity that is registered IN Lesotho or can it be a charity working there? Also, inlcusive of South Africa? Let me know which one and I can send you some contacts. Thanks!

Jean Margaritis said:

Tricky one. Does it have to be a charity that is registered IN Lesotho or can it be a charity working there? Also, inlcusive of South Africa? Let me know which one and I can send you some contacts. Thanks!

I will call the agent in Lesotho on Monday morning and get an answer for us.

Ray

For all the SOLID O'net newbies in the crowd just thought I'd move Ray's comment over here.

Well it's ready and all our ducks are in order, so it's official a container to Lesotho is GO :)

Spoke with:

They are ready and very happy to help us get a container into Lesotho.

This is how we do it now.

Send it from here showing that it's for Charity, this is where ADRA Canada plays its important part. We ship through them like I always do and they give us all the proper documentation needed to get the container into these countries, like gift certificates etc. and because they are such a huge NGO and recognized worldwide, it makes it very easy.

Next we find a registered charity in Lesotho to be the recipient of the container, (Meron this is your job!) then I will take the original paper work over with me in the first week of March and work on exemption forms that take a full 21-day to receive.

Once we have the tax and duty free exemption paper work we will pay the receiving agent Kayhil a bill that will look something like the ones I pay in Swaziland, they are usually always about the same amount every time. $900 U.S.

Again, I would like to thank the people of SOLID for being the ears, eyes, mouths and feet of those little kids in Lesotho, telling their story, so good things like this can happen and we can be blessed by helping and they can be blessed by receiving.

Ray

And this one:

Great news we found 20 Pentium IV computers for Lesotho, they will be ready next Fri.

Ray

Excerpt from a recent Andrea note:

Will be meeting Russel (Armstrong) on Monday along with the Phelisanong Bophelong folks, so we'll arrange the "agent"/ recipient organization and look at how to distribute supplies & use the empty container. Ha Makhata has hundreds of books for a local library that were donated by Libraries for Africa, and they need a space to put them ... so if it is ok with everyone over there, I'd like to suggest we use the container for their library. They can also sell handicrafts out of the container if they divide it cleverly since there will be a volunteer staff member there during open hours.

Ride on !!!!!

~ Anna said: ~

Beth and I are in the process of figuring out how to get from Swaziland to Lesotho at the beginning of April. Wonder if we should join forces and rent a car for that time period? Lets talk.

I believe Ray is planning a trip back and forward from Lesotho and Swaziland about then as well ... maybe something could be worked out for ride share?

I'll be happy to give you a ride to Lesotho free of charge, as long as you don't have to much luggage, Girls! :)

Other wise it's $22 a Kilo LOL and that not in rands.

If Meron says anything about my driving don't listen to her but I am sure you know that by know:)

Ray

Regarding the use of the container, I want to say, you are the ones on the ground assessing the needs, so what ever you all decide, is perfectly ok by us.

Also I have another 40 ft container sitting in Vancouver and I was thinking that if things go well with the first one into Lesotho and there's no snags, then I think we should raise the funds to send another one ASAP and I would love to give that container, if it's needed down there.

Meron, remind me in 3 months I said this, so I don't ship it off to some other strange place. LOL

Ray

~ Ray said: ~

~ Meron, remind me in 3 months I said this, so I don't ship it off to some other strange place. LOL ~

10:4, GOOD BUDDY!!!

; )

Hello, hello!

Let me know what R-dawg (Russell from OHA) says about shipping/receiving things.

Otherwise, love to participate in this carpool action to Lesotho. Any ideas, Ray, when you will be heading there? The only hitch on my end is that I will be flying into Jo'burg. If its too much of a hassle, I feel confident in taking taxis aka flying coffins. But would love to catch up and meet you, Ray! I'll just have a backpack. I've learned to travel light. I haven't booked my flights yet so I'll wait to hear back from you!

I'm so excited to go, I can hardly stand it. Jean

I am looking at booking my flights some time this week and I'm thinking of going down sometime in the last 3 days of Feb and then returning around the second week of April?

Ray

So glad that I have Anna organizing things for me!!! Did Ray said he would take us if we travel light?????? If only you could see my living room right how! (Help!!) Hopefully we will have dispersed most of it in Malawi and Mozambique beforehand. Awesome work / organizing you are all doing. Remind me to tell you my Revelstoke hitchhiking story Ray, it got me into LOTS of trouble!!! Beth

Will post a detailed itinerary once I get the phone numbers straight!! Really looking forward to connecting with you.

Hey everybody. Just checking in (from Austria) to say that your container plans sound great (kudos to you, Ray)!! I'm hoping that once we get the school up and running, we can start to focus efforts on financing a medical clinic in Ha Makhata. Anna, will you be looking at clinic possibilities, costs, etc? Keep me informed.

Jean Margaritis said:

Tricky one. Does it have to be a charity that is registered IN Lesotho or can it be a charity working there? Also, inlcusive of South Africa? Let me know which one and I can send you some contacts. Thanks!

I just recieved tis email:

RAY,

Thanks for the e-mail.

Herewith important info regarding importation into Lesotho.

1. Cnee in Lesotho must be a registered NGO or Charity. in Lesotho.
2. Once they have the invoice or letter of donation, they need to make an application to the Lesotho Revenue Authority, to import the consignment duty and tax free. This will take approx three weeks to receive an answer from Lesotho Revenue Authority.
3. They will also have to apply for an import permit. This can only be done, if they are registered in Lesotho and once they have either a letter or an invoice of the details of the consignment.
4. Once we have the import permit and the Approval of exemption from duties and taxes, the Bill of lading and the relevant invoices,we can process the entry through customs. We will need originals. This will take approx seven days. We can commence the process based on copy documentation.

Hopefully this helps. Thanks & rgds

Hilary

Lots of details...and grand plans...wonderful to see that they can coexist simultaneously!! Peter, absolutely going to assess the feasibility of a health clinic at Ha Makhata when I am there. You may want to check out a somewhat aligned project in Mozambique, where Beth and I are spending some time http://www.kapasseni.org as a glimpse of a model for what appears to be developing at Ha Makhata. Hoping to connnect before I leave at the end of the month. Thanks for all your work on this.

And another 'unbelievable Ray' post:

Great news today, Katie and I went to pick up medical supplies from the Salmon Arm Hospital today.

While we were loading the medical supplies one of the laundry workers came in and ask what we were doing, the lady in charge started to tell him all about the work we do and the next thing I knew he was offering us sheets, towels, surgery scrubs, nurses uniforms and more, so we drove to the back of the hospital and filled the truck right up.

Now we're loaded but we still have to go to the nearby retirement home to pick up walkers and they ended up giving us medical supplies too. The lady working there called a friend working in the Community clinic down the road and before we knew it, we were up there loading even more medical supplies.

Needless to say we came home extremely loaded, but we had a great day.

Also my brother called and said a lady I had spoken to back in June last year from the Langley Hospital near Vancouver just brought over a whole bunch of medical supplies.

I hope they need lots of medical stuff in Lesotho because it sure poured in this week.

Ray