Most likely, whoever receives the goods (to distribute them) will profit from them.

I suggest you only send them to people you know well and trust.

newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:13 am

AdamS wrote:For example, one full pallet of flapjacks could help 100 malnourished students for 3 months.

I’m not sure what an impoverished Cambodian kid would do with a flapjack. Doesn’t look like rice, doesn’t smell like rice, doesn’t taste like rice. The syrup, maybe recognize able if it isn’t maple. Butter on top? Not seen anyone put butter spread on rice anywhere, not bee Phnom Penh.

On a serious note, I wish you good luck on your endeavor.

It was just an example, flapjacks are high calorie, high protein and taste good enough to be well received by most people. Im from the UK i don't know if we have different definitions of flapjack.

explorer wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:30 am Most likely, whoever receives the goods (to distribute them) will profit from them.

I suggest you only send them to people you know well and trust.

Yes we will only be giving goods to people we can trust to distribute them correctly.

I know when Tommy was building his hotel in SHV, he imported container(s) full of goods from China for all the accoutrements. It seemed for a time he was offering some of his expertise which may or may not have developed into a business or consultancy, however he is a nice guy and approachable and I would hit him up and ask him.

https://www.facebook.com/tom.steinmetz.3551

AdamS wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:24 am

explorer wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:57 pm Things that you can buy in Cambodia, buy in Cambodia. They will probably even be cheaper. Ask donors to give money, not goods.

The only things you really need think about importing, are things not available, or things difficult to get in Cambodia.

Do you mind letting us know what you plan to import.

Yes, the cheapness of goods in Cambodia means we have to make sure we are balancing out our outgoing costs.

It's an environmental charity that resells surplus stock so there aren't paying donors as such. The items available to ship are varied; school supplies, wheelchairs, projectors, long shelf life foods, medical supplies etc.

I know that medical supplies would be a completely different ball game so that is not something we are considering anytime soon, but the charity has established itself very well in West Africa and Syria, and usually ships containers rather than pallets. Seeing as SEA is a new venture, best to start small and (potentially) realistic. This is why we're starting with contacting local schools and charities and seeing what we could bring them that would be of great use to them, and also be worthwhile to stock against the dimensions of a standard pallet.

For example, one full pallet of flapjacks could help 100 malnourished students for 3 months.

So you are still stuck at stage 1. Technicallly you cannot import anything without an import license and that requires business registration which would be a million times easier than trying to set yourself up as a charity. Then you can get an agent to do the importing to start with. However, you will be charged tax and vat based on the customs list, not the invoice value. For example we imported legally some magazines which were printed in Philipines and which have no import tax, but we still got a bill for $1000 from customes which detialed charges ofr the tax on the placstic and carboard wrapping which they were imported in as those items of course also wind up in Cambodia! I think both sihanoukville amnd kampot have "one stop shops" who couod fill you in on the details if you have a khmer trnslator. personally i think you are probably flogging a dead horse unless you can find an exsiting organisation that can act for you in importing and distributionand your surplus stock will cost more to get in than buying it here. Food will have to be examined, source of origin, health, excpiry dates etc like perhaps the cambodian childrend fund, or you could try sunrise , but they deal with areas closer to Phnom Pemh

pczz wrote: ↑Mon Feb 04, 2019 12:10 am

AdamS wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:24 am

explorer wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:57 pm Things that you can buy in Cambodia, buy in Cambodia. They will probably even be cheaper. Ask donors to give money, not goods.

The only things you really need think about importing, are things not available, or things difficult to get in Cambodia.

Do you mind letting us know what you plan to import.

Yes, the cheapness of goods in Cambodia means we have to make sure we are balancing out our outgoing costs.

It's an environmental charity that resells surplus stock so there aren't paying donors as such. The items available to ship are varied; school supplies, wheelchairs, projectors, long shelf life foods, medical supplies etc.

I know that medical supplies would be a completely different ball game so that is not something we are considering anytime soon, but the charity has established itself very well in West Africa and Syria, and usually ships containers rather than pallets. Seeing as SEA is a new venture, best to start small and (potentially) realistic. This is why we're starting with contacting local schools and charities and seeing what we could bring them that would be of great use to them, and also be worthwhile to stock against the dimensions of a standard pallet.

For example, one full pallet of flapjacks could help 100 malnourished students for 3 months.

So you are still stuck at stage 1. Technicallly you cannot import anything without an import license and that requires business registration which would be a million times easier than trying to set yourself up as a charity. Then you can get an agent to do the importing to start with. However, you will be charged tax and vat based on the customs list, not the invoice value. For example we imported legally some magazines which were printed in Philipines and which have no import tax, but we still got a bill for $1000 from customes which detialed charges ofr the tax on the placstic and carboard wrapping which they were imported in as those items of course also wind up in Cambodia! I think both sihanoukville amnd kampot have "one stop shops" who couod fill you in on the details if you have a khmer trnslator. personally i think you are probably flogging a dead horse unless you can find an exsiting organisation that can act for you in importing and distributionand your surplus stock will cost more to get in than buying it here. Food will have to be examined, source of origin, health, excpiry dates etc like perhaps the cambodian childrend fund, or you could try sunrise , but they deal with areas closer to Phnom Pemh

Cheers for the information, much appreciated.

AdamS wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:09 pm

pczz wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 12:59 am

AdamS wrote: ↑Thu Jan 31, 2019 8:42 pm

pczz wrote: ↑Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:02 pm probably get in all sorts of grief if you just rock up at a state school and hand over some stuff as well. Almost certainly have to go through local education department

We are currently beginning correspondence with state schools. All the charities wet have contacted have obviously been receptive to free resources, hopefully the state schools will take the kind (and free) gesture and put it towards helping their students and staff

I strongly advise you to go way above the school. Commune or district, but reallly you should start at government and let them feed down. I do not know how much you know about how state schools operate, but there are numerous reports of corruption. It is quite common for teachers to find ways of supplementing their earnings. so far better to start off with organisations who know the rules of the game and when you have done your apprenticeship have a go. For example, when i distribute school materials likebooks, paper penscils etc i go to the village chief and engage his assistance so I can give them direct to the kids. Its not foolprooof, and some families will still sell what you give but it removes severa layers of potential corruption from the game

Really appreciate your comments my friend. Yes we have been to Cambodia before and worked with the village chiefs in the past. And I am aware of the corruption in the Kingdom on paper, but have yet to experience it first hand. We want to tread carefully and just make sure as much as possible of what we bring over falls into the right hands, your replies on this thread have been great. Thank you. A few of the English/American run schools/English centre's we are dealing with profess to be well versed in the things we are talking about. Our first hurdle is getting the supplies to hit Cambodian soil, supplying a portion of it to the free schools we have been speaking with, and then the real work starts!

Again, thanks for the replies. A lot of threads on this website get bogged down with an incredible level of pessimism, I appreciate your constructive and thought out comments.

Don't worry, you will never see the corruption, because any school you are supporting doesn't want you to see. But the fact you didn't experience it first hand doesn't mean it didn't already happen. In fact I am pretty sure it already happened because you and your charity seem such an easy target (low hanging fruit) for the schools to use for adding some money to their meager income.

I have worked for a reputable NGO as a teacher trainer in Cambodia from 2009 till 2012. And just to add something to my credibility, I was on a local salary (354 USD a month) all that time, so I wasn't really in it for the money so to say. Before any of us was sent on our jobs we were warned about corruption, and we were told what to look for. I will give you one simple example of how a school can turn your donations into money in their pockets without technically even breaking the law.

First you have to know each and every school has a yearly budget, assigned by the ministry of education (MoEYS). The budget is based on the number of children in the school. It used to be 10.000r per year (yes, 2,50 USD) per kid. I can imagine it has gone up a bit, but that's not really important. The money has to be spent on improvements for the school. It could be a toilet, learning materials, new seats, whatever. To spend the money the school director has to go to the accounting department at the provincial office of education (preferably through his district office of education first) and apply for funds. After the funds have been given to him he needs to write reports containing receipts.

Now you step in, and for instance build a toilet so girls will have access to a toilet in the school and the expectation is the drop out rate of girls will go down. There's a big ceremony to celebrate the start of the construction, and there's a ceremony when the construction is finished. Unfortunately the donor 'forgot' to somehow put his name on the building in a 'non removable' and 'very obvious' way, for instance by creating a pattern in the stones or by creating a relief in the cement. I will guarantee you in this case in the yearly report of the school (and thus the claim for funds) there will a receipt for the construction of a toilet in order to reduce drop out by girls. The money will end up in the pocket of the school director, although accounting might eat a part of the pie.

Just ask the school director you work with for the yearly reports he filed with the provincial office of education and check what he claimed money for. If there's none of the donations you gave them in there, you're good. Continue your support. If he tells you it's none of your business how he runs his school, reconsider if you want to support a school you can't have checks and balances with. And if he claimed your donations, don't worry, he won't offend you. You will never see the receipts because he already filed them to accountancy, or they're already in Phnom Penh, or [fill in more excuses].

This is just one way to do it, but because it's such an easy way and with one action a few hundred can be made it's a very popular one.

Not wanting to be negative here, just realistic. If your donation just replaces the funds from the ministry are you really helping?

AdamS wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:14 pm

newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:13 am

AdamS wrote:For example, one full pallet of flapjacks could help 100 malnourished students for 3 months.

I’m not sure what an impoverished Cambodian kid would do with a flapjack. Doesn’t look like rice, doesn’t smell like rice, doesn’t taste like rice. The syrup, maybe recognize able if it isn’t maple. Butter on top? Not seen anyone put butter spread on rice anywhere, not bee Phnom Penh.

On a serious note, I wish you good luck on your endeavor.

It was just an example, flapjacks are high calorie, high protein and taste good enough to be well received by most people. Im from the UK i don't know if we have different definitions of flapjack.

Why flapjack? What's in it besides protein, sugar and salt? Did you study the kind of undernourishment of the children in the area? Is it just lack of calories / protein, or is the problem larger than that? It could be there are other vitamins and minerals they're lacking and which one they're lacking is probably highly dependent on the region you will be working in. The time of the year plays a role too because of seasonal crops / fruits.

For instance google the words 'Cambodia + Anemia'. Or download some reports from NGOs on this subject and look at their outcomes. Again, not wanting to be negative, but very often complicated problems need thorough research and thorough thinking to come up with even the slightest idea of how to make one step towards the solution. Maybe you can beat undernourishment with 'flapjacks', but if that was the case, wouldn't there be loads of them be around already?

Jan 31, 2019

AdamS wrote: ↑Thu Jan 31, 2019 8:42 pm We are currently beginning correspondence with state schools. All the charities wet have contacted have obviously been receptive to free resources, hopefully the state schools will take the kind (and free) gesture and put it towards helping their students and staff

On Jan 31, 2019 you are beginning correspondence.

explorer wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:30 am Most likely, whoever receives the goods (to distribute them) will profit from them.

I suggest you only send them to people you know well and trust.

Feb 02, 2019

AdamS wrote: ↑Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:16 pm Yes we will only be giving goods to people we can trust to distribute them correctly.

On Feb 02, 2019 you will only be giving goods to people we can trust to distribute them correctly.

AdamS wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:09 pm Really appreciate your comments my friend. Yes we have been to Cambodia before and worked with the village chiefs in the past. And I am aware of the corruption in the Kingdom on paper, but have yet to experience it first hand.

I get the impression you have no idea how the system works.

Take the posts about corruption seriously.

I believe, people you think you can trust will profit from the donations you give.

Talk to people who have worked in these situations for many years, and ask them to explain what is likely to happen.