A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF MISSION WORLD AID IN 2007 - 08

In the past financial year (2007-2008), MWA packed and dispatched 13 containers and a crate of computers and assisted a country group to despatch a container to Africa. Following are some excerpts from the Deputy Director’s Annual Report presented on September 18th 2008:

Madagascar In July we sent a 40 foot container to Tananarivo comprising 16 compressed bales of clothing, 16 hospital beds, a complete dental surgery unit and 496 boxes of hospital and humanitarian aid. A small hospital in a remote area has been partially equipped with this aid.

Vietnam In August a 40 foot container was sent to Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam packed with 80 hospital beds and other hospital equipment. This container was requested and organised by the Australia Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, paid for by the consignee with a group of Vietnamese students helping MWA to pack it.

Uganda In September a 40 foot container was sent to Mbale containing equipment for a newly established high school. This container included 247 chairs, 12 computers, 156 pews, 36 compressed bales of clothing and 575 boxes of humanitarian aid. Zonta International supplied 30 bags of 200 birthing kits for distribution to midwives working in remote areas.

Israel In December we packed a high cube 40 foot container for distribution among various aid centres throughout Israel. There were 1000 boxes of clothing, including seven pallets of industrial safety overalls and equipment, plus considerable furniture in this shipment. These goods will be available to immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia and other welfare recipients living in sparsely furnished apartments.

Uganda In January we dispatched yet another 40 foot container to a different location comprising 18 computers, bicycles, furniture, school desks and chairs and 322 boxes of assorted household and school items. This shipment encountered more hurdles than usual, being delayed by damage to the railway by the unrest in Kenya at the time. Zonta International also donated 18 birthing kits for midwives for this shipment.

Children queuing for clothing - Naugabo sub-county

Kenya Also in January we dispatched a 40 foot container to Nairobi which was distributed to many communities in eastern Kenya which had been affected by the unrest following the election. This container was made up of 36 compressed bales of clothing, 35 school desks, 57 chairs, 12 computers, 8 sewing machines, 20 bicycles, school equipment and 618 boxes of household and school aid.

Uganda In February we sent a 40 foot container packed with over 6000 shoe boxes of birthday gifts for some of the orphans in Kitgum. The 12 year war in Northern Uganda has resulted in more than 2 million internally displaced refugees. This container also contained 36 bales of compressed clothing, 9 manual typewriters, 2 knitting machines, chairs, desks and bicycles.

Uganda In March we sent a 40 foot container to another location in this country. A railway bridge in Eastern Uganda had been washed away and so the container was freighted overland from Mombasa by truck. This shipment comprised 90 bales of compressed clothing, 70 bags of knitted baby clothes, 250 boxes of assorted goods, 6 sewing machines, 36 rolls of fabric, 8 bicycles and assorted furniture.

Tanzania Also in March we packed and sent off a 2 cubic metre crate packed with computers for a Secretarial College run by one of our partner organisations – the Salvation Army. This college aims to help the poor out of endemic poverty by educating students at a subsidised cost.

Zambia In April we packed a 40 foot container with assorted humanitarian aid but we were unable to send it until June as there was such shipping congestion in Port Adelaide, South Australia, that we couldn’t get a booking. This shipment contained 36 bales of compressed clothing, 142 chairs, 67 stools, 54 desks, 6 sewing machines, 8 typewriters, assorted furniture, 100 bags of knitted baby clothes and 459 boxes of assorted items.

Container for Zambia on truck

Liberia Although we packed a 40 foot container in December we were only able to dispatch it to Monrovia in May 2008. It was sent to our contact who runs an orphanage, kindergarten, primary school and skills training centre in addition to an outreach to poor and vulnerable residents. This container comprised 31 hospital beds and mattresses, 32 bales of clothing, school furniture, 10 computers and 354 boxes of other humanitarian aid. The container had to be trans-shipped twice because of the distance … once in Malaysia and then again in Algeciras, Spain.

Papua New Guinea In May we packed a 40 foot container with 300 copira presses developed by a long term missionary and agricultural adviser in PNG. These presses enable simpler extraction of coconut oil to enable remote communities to produce a cash crop and use it for a multitude of purposes locally. We included in this container 200 boxes of assorted school books, 36 bales of compressed clothing, a pulpit, 3 computers, 21 hospital beds and mattresses, a drum kit, an electric organ and 518 boxes of humanitarian aid. This container was transported free to Townsville, Queensland by Patrick Corporation and shipped free to Rabaul by Consort Shipping – for this we are very grateful. The Chief of Customs in Rabaul is quoted as saying: We are truly satisfied. We truly praise God for what you and your friends in Australia are doing for our country.

Jordan In May we sent a 40 foot container with 36 bales of compressed clothing, 329 boxes of winter clothing and household equipment, 56 mattresses and 24 hospital beds for the Iraqi refugees in Jordan to be distributed by one of our partner organisations in Jordan.

Vietnam Also in May we packed a 40 foot container with assorted humanitarian aid, and 8 hospital beds for an orphanage. Members of the Vietnamese community in Adelaide, South Australia had collected rolls of fabric and sewing machines and other items to be included in the shipment that comprised 70 rolls of fabric, 10 sewing machines, 8 hospital beds, a christening font, 5 bicycles, 16 office chairs, 8 office desks, 8 electric fans, 63 school desks, 105 chairs, 55 stools, 10 computers, 4 prams, plumbing equipment and 414 boxes of assorted aid.

Uganda In June an aid organisation based in regional South Australia packed a 40 foot container with agricultural equipment – including 2 tractors, 2 cultivators, 2 rotary hoes, a cement mixer, 11 bicycles, a spud harrow, household furniture and equipment and 192 boxes of humanitarian aid to establish a potato growing enterprise. MWA dispatched this container for them.

Uganda - mending bikes sent by Mission World Aid

Additional Activities
In March 2008 a wonderful team of volunteers packed two high cube (i.e. 9 foot 6 inches high) containers and a truck with hospital equipment from a decommissioned nursing home in Adelaide, South Australia. This equipment included over 70 hospital beds and a wide range of furniture and equipment for dispatch to countries at our discretion.

Special Acknowledgement
We offer our grateful thanks to Worldlink International, our shipping agent who serves us graciously and generously, and to the Australian Wool Handlers who compact and store the bales of clothing until they are needed. They then load the containers as required.

Conclusion to the Annual Report
We praise the Lord for faithfully helping us to overcome some unprecedented difficulties this year. Despite railway lines being torn up, railway bridges washed away, documents going astray, being late or held up by an airport strike; despite having to prove the existence of MWA numerous times and difficult encounters in various countries – the MWA containers have all arrived safely with grateful thanks from the recipients. It is such a comfort to remind myself when the problems seem unsurmountable – that this work of MWA, from beginning to end, is the Lord’s work and we are His servants.

Gael Harrison.
Deputy Director & Aid Administrator

Click here for the 2006/07 Annual Report
Click here for the 2008/09 Annual Report (10 MB)

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