Guidelines for Rotary clubs sending containers to the Pacific
 
  1. Decide on Pacific destination and expected contents for container, then contact a local Rotary club in the Pacific to check if they can receive and distribute the goods for you. (It is important to check that they see a need for the items otherwise another destination should be found.)
     
  2. Estimated costs ex Wellington $2,500-3,000/container. Your club will need to fundraise to cover Customs costs at the Pacific end. For example, Fiji costs approx. NZ$5,000 for customs clearance and delivery. The Fijian clubs don’t have the funds available to pay this.
     
  3. Contact Geoffrey Cooper at Jenners Worldwide Freight Limited in Auckland to arrange for a container to be delivered to your city port eg Wellington wharf. Max 20ft length for most Pacific ports, any larger and they won’t be able to receive it. Geoffrey will supply an order number.
     
  4. Advise 9940 Chair, International Services committee of plans, expected contents, destination and receiving club. District Chair will forward advice to RNZWCS.
     
  5. Contents to be packed securely to ensure no movement while being shipped, counting and documenting items as you go. School desks should be dismantled and metal legs taped together with the screws, numbered along with a matching number on the desk (use parcel tape for labelling/writing on)
     
  6. Once the container has been loaded, prepare documentation.
     
  7. Club letterhead invoice from the NZ club to the receiving club in Pacific
    Recommend using a spreadsheet with the following at the top:
    - club title and contact details
    - container number
    - seal number
    - include the following statement “All goods used and of no commercial value”.
     
  8. List all items packed into the container, quantities, price per unit e.g. 1,000 school desks @ $1.00, sub-total, # school chairs @ 50c each, etc (keep total cost of contents low – around $1,500)
     
  9. Advise Geoffrey Cooper at Jenners when ready to go and email invoice to him. The container will be collected and consolidated in Tauranga before shipment direct to Fiji (takes about 10 days Tauranga to Fiji).
     
  10. Send funds to RNZWCS to cover the customs costs at the Pacific end, so that they can send this to the receiving club in the Pacific ahead of the container arriving.
     
  11. Recommended that club arranges marine cargo insurance for the container (while it is at sea) to ensure cover if ship-wide damage/loss and a proportional responsibility / general average claim charged for total loss. Use District 9940 insurer.