Sending a package to a family in Africa?

You don’t know anyone in Africa – but you want to send them shoeboxes full of stuff?

I don’t want to seem harsh but – Don’t waste your time. Use the time you were going to put stuff into boxes and instead organize a fund raiser to raise money for an organization that works in Africa – like UNICEF or something like that.

My family has a long history of doing aid work in Africa – my aunt just returned from working for two years in Malawi. A couple boxes of stuff aren’t going to really help anyone – nice thought but….

Take the stuff in shoeboxes down to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army.

I’m sure your heart is in the right place – but you could really use your time in a much more effective way.

Good luck!

I know my church used to send Christmas gifts around the world. Look something up on google and you could join a charity type thing.

OMG
you and your friends are soo sweet.
i think that you guys should go to the umm government center in a family in need in africa; they will tell you all that you need to know.
(;

I can get you a list of addresses.
I am working on a similar thing but what I am trying to do is ask for book donations to send them there and maybe set up a mini library, if you are interested let me know and we can join effort

I have to agree with JM. I’ll add that the money you would spend to ship these things to Africa could benefit families SO much more if you were to give it to CARE International or UNICEF or Madre.org — they could use the money to buy even more things *in* Africa, from African people who desperately need such funds themselves to sustain their businesses and families.

It’s great that you want to help, but mailing things to Africa is not the best way to help families in Africa. Don’t let this turn you off altogether — follow JM’s advice.

Well, things don’t really work the same way in Africa as they do here- the needy families typically live in rural areas that don’t really get ‘postal service’. You’d have to join a larger foundation that could actually go there and give the packages to the family. Donating money is always an option (i know it has less appeal- but it does help) be sure to do it through a secure site though!

I would check with Geoff and Liz Furber who run an organization called Ripple Africa. You can email them directly through their website and let them know that you want to help out. I’m sure you could send the package to them and they would pass it along to a family for you.

Don’t let some of the other answers on here get you discouraged. You CAN make a difference! Their website is:

http://www.rippleafrica.org

try going to http://www.thepencilproject.com. Its not exactly giving packages to individuals families but you can help individual schools that really need some extra pencil for the kids to be able to learn.

wow u kids are really would like to a make a difference, i wld suggest send those stuff to the Philippines, Ive sent some stuff thru ädopt a school program under the government. there are a lot fo kids needs some stuff in the rural areas. they are really very poor. let me know if u decide to send them.

Hi Teetoe,

I think that that is a really sweet thing that you and your friends want to do. But, while you will find that there are a lot of "needs" here in Africa (I live in Ghana), you should be aware that sending a boxful of stuff, even as small as a shoe box, is so expensive, that you’ll be frustrated. My family sends stuff to me for my kids, and a simple little one pound box costs $37 to ship from NJ to Ghana. A box that weighs 22 lbs costs $143.

Barb, an American who lives in Ghana