Goods available for Global Hand members.

This news article comes to you in two parts. Firstly, we’d like to highlight goods that are available for Global Hand members. Secondly, we’d also like to alert you to tsunami responses within the Global Hand community. You may be able to help by providing either funding, freight or advice.

1. Goods

There are currently a number of interesting offers available on the Global Hand site.

Please remember that only full Red or Yellow members of Global Hand are able to request these goods. If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact us on developers@globalhand.org. With new offers coming on to the site all the time, we don’t want any to miss out who could benefit from this valuable product.

1.1 Bottled Water

CNN News reported this week that, in the south of India, supplies of drinking water are desperately short, and the sources of fresh drinking water have become mixed with salt water. If you are supporting projects in southern India, you may be interested in several offers of bottled water available through Global Hand. The water is also available for non-tsunami related needs, should you be interested in it for your other projects. Please go to the Offers section of the site.

1.2 Electrical Cable

An offer of electrical cable has been placed on the site. The cable will be obsolete in the UK from July 2006, as EU legislation has required the change of core colours to twin brown from twin red. The cable could be used for short-term/temporary supplies in any country that uses UK style wiring. It is appropriate for any light duty (6 to 10 amps) at 240 volts, typically lighting mains circuits. Visit our Offers section to respond to this offer. Again, this offer is available to any Global Hand member, and does not need to go to a tsunami region.

1.3 Beds

Also available are hydraulic hospital beds (150 beds released per month) and army style camp beds with wooden frames, foldaway legs and green old style mattresses (10,000 in total). These are on offer to any Global Hand member working in a region of need, and are not specifically for tsunami relief. For further details, please visit the Offers section.

1.4 Scientific Journals & Educational Texts

A university in Aberdeen has offered back issues of the Journal of Ecology and Journal of Applied Ecology, as well as other biological science textbooks. Available only to Global Hand members, this offer can be accessed by viewing the Offers section.

1.5 Other Offers

There are a number of other goods offered on the site, including computer equipment, equipment for making carpets, commercial kitchen equipment, clothing, food, medical supplies and baby bottles. See the Offers section for more information.

Don’t forget, if you have excess to goods that you are unable to place, you would be welcome to offer them to the Global Hand community. To do so, please go to the Offers section. You may also like to browse Requests .

2. Tsunami-Related Freight Needs

Can you help by offering space, funding or advice to groups in need of assistance with freight for tsunami relief shipments? If you have designated funding for your tsunami response and are looking for partners, Global Hand can help you.

2.1 To Sri Lanka, from UK

Mines Awareness Trust, a Yellow member of Global Hand, is seeking freight assistance to send heavy well-digging equipment to Sri Lanka. Can you help? Contact us on enquiries@globalhand.org

2.2 To Maldives, from UK (or to Colombo, Sri Lanka, from UK)

A group called “Friends of the Maldives” has 110 pallets of relief supplies to send to the Maldives, and are looking for assistance to air freight the goods. Global Hand members have already played a part in helping this group, but there are still more supplies awaiting transport. Should it prove too difficult to air freight all the goods to the Maldives, the group would be interested in discussing shipment to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as they have contacts there who could forward the goods to the Maldives. If you can help, please contact us at enquiries@globalhand.org

2.3 To Indonesia, from UK

A Global Hand member is interested in shipping beds from UK to Indonesia. Please contact enquiries@globalhand.org if you are able to assist with this freight.

2.4 To Tanzania, from UK, Australia, Germany, and elsewhere

Global Hand has two Red members based in Tanzania. They are keen to receive product for their work, including tsunami relief for affected areas in Africa, but find it difficult to fund the shipping from other parts of the world. They have expressed interest in offers from UK, Australia, Germany, and elsewhere, and would be delighted to hear from you should you be able to help. There will be an ongoing need for freight to Tanzania. Please contact enquiries@globalhand.org if you are able to assist with this request.

2.5 Other Freight Needs

We know there are other freight needs within the Global Hand community. If your organisation would like to acquire product through Global Hand, but cannot organise the freight, please let us know and we will do our best to help.

Likewise, if you are able to help other organisations who are looking for assistance with freight, please contact us. In particular, we have members in Central Asia who would like to receive product offered through Global Hand but often cannot because of the cost of freight. If you are active in that region and could be part of a solution, we would be delighted to hear from you. You can reach us at enquiries@globalhand.org