Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.

32 Jahre Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.
deutschenglisch

4th July 2015

Relief shipment of tents for homeless population – a successful fight through the jungle of public authorities

After the series of heavy earth quakes in Nepal, which killed 9,000 people, NHB decided to send tents for the homeless population in the severely hit regions of the country. The vice-president, Manfred Lindner, made himself responsible for the very complex task of organising the 250 tents and delivering the goods by air.

The German ambassador in Nepal and the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin sent all the necessary guidelines concerning the import of relief to Nepal. We purchased a variety of tents in different sizes and the supplier gave us some discount, the freight forwarding company helped us through the red tape. 

The freight with its weight of nearly eight tons reached the capital Kathmandu at the end of May. The tents and the shipping cost almost 80,000 Euro, financed from donations. At the beginning it seemed to be a matter of formality forwarding the tents to their destination and handing them over to the people in need. However, the Nepali government decided to raise import duty of 30% on all goods. 

Sunil Shresta, the local coordinator of NHB in Nepal, and his team worked hard to get the relief supplies duty free through customs. Their fight through the jungle of public authorities took them three weeks, but fortunately ended successfully.

Unfortunately, some foreign companies tried to import goods under the cloak of relief supplies to avoid duty. This is the reason for all the government red tape.

The children’s home in Lubhu functioned as an intermediate storage facility, from where the tents were transported to their destination. Most of them were the so-called “UN-tunnel-tents” measuring 5.50 x 3.40 or 5.00 x 4.50m or 5.00 x 4.50m. They provide sufficient capacity and offer shelter against rain and wind.

Two of the major aims of NHB have been achieved: Provide first aid – despite all the unplanned administrative barriers – and spending the donations sustainably. The need for donations will be even more pressing, when we consider the need to reconstruct the four destroyed school buildings.

Tents at Munich Airport
Tents at Munich Airport
Tents for the Children’s home
Tents for the Children’s home
Tents for the Children’s home
Tents for the Children’s home
Family tents
Family tents
Family tents
Family tents