Getting into an incredible challenge:

It all started in June 2018: Karola Wood held a presentation in a large center for special education andtherapy in Schonungen about the work of Ladakh-Hilfe/REWA in Ladakh. The very engaged and knowledgable leading therapist Cornelia Ritter showed Karola their storage: It was full of high quality therapy equipment to be thrown away because of the high German standard of Technical Inspection Agency. If the equipement has been used for so many years, it is discharged. So the plan was made to send the sorted and hand picked excellent materials to Ladakh for use of the new REWA 2020 center, REWA Kargil and the planned dependances in all districts of Ladakh. 

Another physiotherapist approached us in Januaray 2019: Wilma Eilers-Freese. She was as a volunteer for Ladakh-Hilfe in Leh and now she was retiring and giving up her clinic with all equipment. Barbara Forst and her determined what should be send to Ladakh and it was put in storage. 

It all sounds easy, but it is not. Because every item to be sent has to be measured and the volume calculated. Every item has to be weighted and recorded. For avoiding confusion we took picture of every item and made long lists with all data. All the data had to be gathered from two lists into one spread sheet. No item that can be produced in India is allowed to be send. 

We tried to raise money for the transport. It was estimated that it will cost 2000 €.

Karola Wood approached international transport companies in Germany to get price estimates and plans how to do this transport. Since this is the first transport Ladakh-Hilfe and friends were doing on their own it was a pionieering job to kick doors open and to find out how to do it. We were lucky to find a packing company in Germany that would pack the aids for free. 

When Karola Wood came back from Ladakh in July she started to arrange the transport of the aids from Northern Germany, Wilmas storage, and from Schonungen to the city of the packing companie. Great news was that both transports were done very cheap, one was for free. Now the goods were packed, transport lists had to be created, customs paper needed to get done. It took awhile, but with the help of many friendly people at Fa. Dachser, our internationl shipping company,  we managed to get everything done. 

We are very happy to announce that finally four very big wooden crates will arrive in Delhi tomorrow, Sept. 3rd. We will keep you update, how Mr. David will care for the freight, get it out of customs, get it on a truck and finally to Ladakh! 

Report by Karola Wood

Please check the pictures for development of the transport stages: