Items are purchased by the friends or donated and shipped to Mvumi Hospital all of the time. The process for shipping items to Tanzania is reasonably straightforward.

Items are sent to a UK freight forwarders warehouse and consolidated with goods that other organisations are shipping to destinations all over Tanzania. When a 20ft shipping container is full it is taken onboard a container ship. A ship leaves the UK for Tanzania every week bound for Dar Es Salaam and the transit time is about three weeks. Here the container is taken off the ship and passed to the agent of the UK freight forwarder, where it is cleared by customs. Import duty is paid on the items sent at this point. The items are then held in the freight forwarders premises in Dar Es Salaam while they contact the Hospital regarding organising the onward shipment to Dodoma. Once contact has been made with the Hospital the items are taken overland to Dodoma and are delivered to a compound. The Hospital then picks up the shipment from Dodoma and transports it back to the Hospital.

There are two elements to the cost. There is the actual physical shipping costs which are approximately £300 per cubic metre from the forwarders premises in the UK to Dodoma (this can vary according to the weight and whether the items are classified as hazardous). The second element of the shipping cost is the duty imposed at the point of entry. This varies according to the commodity being shipped but can be between 3-7% of the total value of the shipment. The Hospital does qualify for import duty exemption but this can only be claimed on items that are donated totally free of charge. In this instance the Hospital itself has to raise the exemption certificates and get them to the forwarder at the point and time of entry to Tanzania. Normally the freight forwarder can retrospectively invoice you or the Friends for the full transaction but cannot arrange to get the import tax exemption, this has to be arranged by Katibu at the Hospital.

Bearing in mind the high cost of shipping you should be sure that the Hospital cannot purchase the item that you want to ship cheaper locally. If the item is readily available in Tanzania you should consider whether or not a financial donation allowing the Hospital to purchase the item locally may be more appropriate. If you are unsure about whether an item is worth donating you should speak to Dr.David McKelvey who can advise you regarding suitability. Either way if the shipping cost is to be paid directly by the Friends you should get agreement first before proceeding.

Assuming the decision is made to ship the items you should then contact Patrick Rainforth on 01756 747284 (work) and he can advise you on where to send the items in the UK, or can arrange for collection from you. The items should be securely packed in boxes that can easily be lifted by one person. You need to have two identical and complete lists of the items that you are sending. One copy should travel in an envelope on the outside of the box and a copy will need to be sent or faxed to Patrick.

The delivery address of the forwarder in the UK who you will be sending your item to is:

Roan International

C/O O’ Express

Enterprise Business Park

Globe Industrial Estate

Off rectory Rd

Grays

Essex

RM17 6ST

You will also need to clearly label the item for delivery to:

Mvumi Hospital

Mvumi

Dodoma

Tanzania

You should avoid labelling the outer packing of your item or the packing list detailing the contents of the box with any specific individuals name at the Hospital. This is because although the Hospital can claim exemption on import duties the individuals cannot, and occasionally items meant for the Hospital have been taxed simply because it was addressed to a named person rather than the Hospital.

Finally you should put the senders address in smaller print on the item.

Items are generally not insured that are shipped by the friends unless the shipment is particularly valuable (i.e. over £1,000). In these instances the UK freight forwarder arranges the insurance. This is because our recent experience shows that although a shipment may be subject to administrative delays of one kind or another they do eventually arrive at the Hospital intact.

We can tell you when your items have arrived at Hospital and the Hospital administrator may write to you to confirm this. There are often delays at each stage of the process and it is not unusual for a shipment to take eight weeks to arrive at the Hospital.

The friends of Mvumi support the Hospital by supplying them with a very wide variety of items often at the direct request of the Hospital. Recent shipments have included:

Drugs.

Examination gloves, IV catheters, sutures. Fetal gel.

Laboratory Chemicals & Lab equipment, including microscopes and bulbs.

Surgical intruments, stethescopes, thermometers, scissors.

Electrical lights, plumbing taps, pumps, flow meters.

Medical text books

Computer PC’s, printers.