Help! How do I ship to Namibia?
 

I'll throw this one out there in hopes somebody might have an idea or a connection.

I'm associated with a small organization that set out to help the poor black farmers of Namibia by soliciting donations of work clothes. The effort was extremely successful in that a reputable clothes manufacturer has donated $24,000 worth of brand new surplus work clothes to our cause. The clothing is shrink wrapped and on pallets.

We originally thought we would be able to collect only a small amount and are unable to financially cover the cost of shipping this much clothing. We have a connection in Namibia near the airport that can accept the shipment.

Is anyone affiliated with a charitable organization, or perhaps a transport company interested in charitable causes that can help arrange for the transport of this much needed clothing? Any leads would help.

Thanks

Have you tried at all soliciting FedEx or UPS as to what their rates would be? I know you said it wasn't in the initial budget, I'm just curious what the difference is between the budget and their quoted rate. Maybe the clothes manufacturer could trade some of the clothes for shipping costs?

I think I'd try to get one of the shipping companies to donate the shipping, or perhaps try to set up a radiothon type deal to raise money to get the clothing there.

with a dollar amount that large, i'd also investigate how much, if any, the duty would be to bring it into the country...

is there a namibian embassy that you could check with...

churches are usually a good place to start when trying go get some funding for charitable causes...

This is the problem with shipments of donated goods overseas: shipping is so expensive that it's almost not worth it. Better to get money, and then make arrangements to buy goods in the region and then deliver them.

That said, you're correct. Your only chance is to get some company to donate shipping expenses. My only suggestion would be that you contact the Namibian consultant to get a list of American or multinational firms who do business in Namibia, and I'm sure that at least some do; I've heard there's mining.

Then contact those corporations and see if you could "tack on" your shipment to a shipment they have going to Namibia for their own purposes; or, they might be persuaded to pay simply to be good neighbors in the country they're working in.

Some good suggestions. The costs of shipping such a large amount of goods so far is extremely prohibitive. I believe most small to medium charitable organizations would feel the money would be better spent on multiple smaller projects. I do believe my only chance would be through the corporate avenue with a company that has an established shipping channel to Namibia. Hopefully I'll find a benevolent soul there!

Thanks for the suggestions- any further thoughts are appreciated.

Your best bet is to contact the catholic church. I'm not catholic, but I've donated through them a dozen times to places all over the world, and I wasn't worried about them keeping a ridiculous overhead. Your local church should be able to put you in contact with the internationa catholic aid organizations, and they will be able to advise you on the best way to clothe people. By the way, I have nothing but respect for people who are willing to donate and be active in order to help people they've never met.