Collecting and storing items ready to ship

The Container

Collecting in the UK

Mike Hopkin, our Logistics Officer, spends the whole year collecting items throughout the whole of South Wales and further afield. Usually this can be achieved by using his own car; if the items are too bulky or in large quantities, it may be necessary to hire a trailer or a van. Other members of the Management Committee also collect goods as a result of addressing meetings or via personal and work contacts.

Our donors include individuals, opticians, doctors' surgeries, care homes, local firms, schools, hospitals, social service organisations and the Red Cross. Knowledge of us is via our newsletters, word of mouth, supporters keeping their eyes and ears open at their place of work, and strangers being given our name by the Red Cross.

Scarcely anything we send to Zambia is purchased by us; it is all freely donated and would have ended up in UK landfill but for our intervention. It is unbelievable what we waste.

What we collect

What we collect falls into six categories; Medical, Sewing, Household, Office/School Equipment, Tools, and Miscellaneous.

1. Medical - arm and elbow crutches and walking sticks, audiometers and hearing aids, bandages and dressings, spectacles, sterilizers, wheeled walkers, wheelchairs, assorted medical equipment as used in minor casualty units, clinics and surgeries, drugs, wipe clean mattresses and stethoscopes/blood pressure monitors.
2. Sewing - large bolts of cloth, sewing machines, cones of wool, wool and general haberdashery items.
3. Household - blankets and bed linen, candles, and basic kitchenware/utensils.
4. Office/schools equipment - school books and materials, playground toys, paper and office sundries, and school desks/chairs (with metal legs to deter termites!)
5. Tools - basic woodwork, metalwork and engineering tools, buckets, and wheelbarrows.
6. Miscellaneous - Bibles, bicycles, child buggies (for use as infant wheelchairs) and tents.

This list is by no means exhaustive and is intended to give just a flavour of what we collect. We are sometimes offered a one-off item never before encountered, in which case we sound out Zambia. For example our representative in North Wales was offered a foetal scanner by a local hospital which was upgrading to a new model. Monze Mission hospital said "yes please" so it was brought down (free of charge by the van driver who was so impressed with our work) and arrived in Zambia in November 2010.

Storage

We are extremely fortunate to have been given (free of charge by Johnsey Estates) a large, dry, well lit and secure storage space on an industrial estate where once was made the nylon for your tights, shirts, nighties...and thousands of other things. In addition there is a large loading area adjacent to the storage. We are most grateful for the provision of these excellent facilities.

Here we store all the items destined for shipment. We have dedicated areas set aside for the various categories of item and, where necessary, pack them into large boxes (the sort a microwave would come in), new, and flat packed and provided freely by a local box manufacturer. The size of the storage area enables us to spread the items around and ensure that all boxes are clearly labeled, and that delicate, expensive and high priority items are easily identified and not overlooked.

Throughout the year packing boxes continues so that we are not in a last minute rush and also so we have a rough idea of the volume of goods to be sent. Containers come in fixed sizes, are expensive and we need to pack each box and each container to maximum capacity. We can’t afford to ship fresh air.

Liaison with third parties

In addition to storing and sending goods to HHI(Zambia) we also assist other organisations and individuals with whom we have a special relationship. For example on the 2010 container there were many boxes for Monze Mission Hospital from a donor in Cornwall, specialist anaesthetic equipment and materials for Mercy Flyers, and miscellaneous medical equipment for Dr Phiri, the former chairman of trustees for HHI(Z), who works in a remote hospital many miles from our Monze base.