I finally have the cargo

On Thursday last week, Raja and I spent a very exhausting day at the Sri Lankan Port Authority inspection warehouse waiting for the cargo to be inspected not once but twice.  I never in my wildest dreams imagined what an enhauting and long process this would be until I was there in the midst of it all.
To begin the day, we met with the clearing agents at their office at 9am and proceeded to the inspection warehouse by 10am as I was told the inspection of my cargo would take place at 10.30am.   I was also told that all the 49 boxes would be inspected by the Revenue Department and also by Customs as it was such a big shipment.
I wasn't worried about this as I knew that the packing list that I'd provided was a 100% reflection of what was in each box.
Finally at 12.15pm, the Revenue inspector came to look at the goods.  He looked at the packing list, the letter of support that Raja had written and the brochure of In My Heart Serendib activities over the past 5 years.  He then wanted to speak with me..  I was a little nervous, at this point anything could go wrong.  He was a very nice gentleman who assured me that he was convinced of the purpose of the goods but still needed to do the inspection and then levy the tax that would be payable.
He indicated to the shipping agents that he would inspect 6 boxes chosen at random and if they complied with the packing list, then he would be satisfied.  He again spoke with me to confirm a couple of things like "thongs", here they are called slippers and I had written badminton instead of table tennis.  He at this point indicated that he had no authority to waivre the tax due on the shipment, I said I understood that and hoped that he'd make a concession at least.
At about 12.45, he left us to go and see his superiors to see if I could have an exemption of tax.  He took a few samples of the goods from each box to take with him as evidence that it was to be donated to children and not sold for profit. 
A short time later I was summoned to come to the Superintendant of Customs Office.  Whilst waiting, the inspector came out and spoke in Sinhalese to the shipping agents, Fortunately I know enough Sinhalese to understand that he said I had been granted a tax exemption.  I was very happy at this point and had just one more hurdle to get over, Customs.
We returned to the warehouse and again waited and waited for the Customs Inspector to come.  It was lunch time and they took 1 hour so I just had to suck it up and be patient.
I was hungry, tired, dirty and a little over it all by this stage.   It was around 3pm that he came to our shipment.  By now most of the other people who'd been there all day had had their inspections completed and were arranging for vehicles to take their belongings to their homes.  We were still waiting and I knew we still had a little longer to wait.
This Inspector again wanted to know about the shipment, he spoke with the agents and then wanted to speak with me.  He asked a lot of questions, again deciding to look at 5 random boxes.  I was a little concerned this time because he didn't appear to be as friendly and understanding as the Revenue Inspector.  Anyway, he called me over a couple of times and then he indicated that he would go back to the office to make his decision.  We all thought this would take about 10 minutes but after 30minutes, a phone call came and I was again asked to come to his office.
The shipping agents and I went, this officer asked a lot of questions about such things as my job in Australia, how many hours per week I worked and how long I'd been in my position.  He also wanted to know how many trips I'd made to Sri Lanka and the previous purposes.  I wasn't at all comfortable answering these questions but I didn't want to rock the boat at this stage so obliged.
He read Raja's letter and then looked over the brochure before telling me that he would charge the minimum in Customs Duties due to the bone fide nature of the goods.  This amounted to about $140- which I was really pleased about.  I agreed and then he signed the release of the goods over to me.
Hoorah!!!!  The next step was arranging for a small truck that was capable of carrying 600kg of goods.  By now its just after 4pm and most of the suitable trucks have gone taking other peoples goods.  Anyway, both agents said that Raja and I could leave and they would arrange the rest and the delivery would take place later that afternoon.  By now it's after 4pm and I desperately needed the toilet and to eat.
I couldn't believe that the 3.5 week delay was over, I can now do what I came here to do.  To deliver donated goods to the children.
My shipment  arrived in Colombo on 22nd August and I didn't take posession of it until 15th September.  There is so much bureaucracy that went on, I just don't have the energy to tell the whole story.  All I want to do is get the goods unpacked so that we can start our delivery journey. 
The first trip will commence on Tuesday.  We'll head to Matara in the South of Sri Lanka, where the girls from the Methmal Orphanage are staying whilst repairs are being undertaken at their place near Hambantota.  I'll meet with the Chief Buddhist Monk and we'll talk about the repairs to the building and what suitable item we can purchase for the children that will bring fun and enjoyment to them. 
Then it's off to Galwewa school, Seth Sevana Orphanage at Thanamawilla then on to Pottuvil where I'll meet with the children from Panama Tamil School.  On the way back to Colombo, we'll call at Wandinaheliyaya school at Wellawaya.  That should all take about 10 days and then it's back to Colombo.
I'm really looking forward to Tuesday so stay posted for the updates.