A developer shares the 42-day ordeal of shipping a used MacBook from Australia to a Congolese refugee studying Computer Science in a Ugandan refugee camp. The journey involved a failed Australia Post attempt due to lithium battery rules, a $213 courier service, navigating Ugandan customs without a Tax Identification Number, bureaucratic obstruction, a laptop seizure, and finally a surreal last-mile delivery that ended with the laptop stored on a shelf in a hardware shop beside welding equipment. Total cost reached ~$426 AUD — close to the laptop's value — but the MacBook arrived intact and working.
Table of contents
First attemptClearing Ugandan customsGetting a TIN as a refugeeLaptop seizureFinding the laptop in a hardware storeMission accomplished16.1K Impressions1 Comment