AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Fire in San Pedro

Got this from another friend...

The chamber is out of commission due to rebuilding. Nothing to do with the
fire. Patients are being helicoptered to Cozumel in the meantime. There is
also going to be a full clinic in the new finished chamber Building. The
chamber operators just returned from Mexico where they took an upgrade
course.

To the person who is sending clothing and applicances to a family who lost their home in the fire:
I hope that you have ASKED this family if they really want clothing and applicances sent to them, or would they prefer cash so they could buy these things...and I hope you have discussed with them how they will get your items out of customs without paying duty (at least on the applicances...)
I say this only because in the past, people have sent items as donations only to learn that the recipients were unable to retrieve them because they could not afford to pay the duty. This is one of the reasons the best thing to send to disaster victims is cash.
I would not assume that customs officers will be lenient on imposing duty merely because its the right thing to do. It was only after a lot of hell was raised (including by people on this BBS) that duty was able to be waived on SOME (not all) hurricane relief items..and even then, there were many hassles because some customs officials had not been "officially informed" of the duty waiver.
I don't want to discourage you from donating, just want to make sure you've covered the bases and there will be no disappointing surprises on the other end.

Yes Marty...what we heard was that when the Fire Dept. started to try and pump water from the lagoon, it got clogged up with mud/sand....they are still in a learning process. Kinda like "Murphy's Law". Rick and I were there, but asleep....didn't even know anything was going on. So i can understand what happened, or didn't happen with their malfunction....but my question is, they didn't turn the sirens on and alert anyone?? If we would have been woken up by sirens....we certainly would have got up and went and helped!!! Sirens are a distress call...emergency call....and could have been more beneficial in getting more help!!! C&R

to susangg...and anybody that's wondering...at risk of exploiting this particular family, they are very dear associates as well as dear friends. What ever it takes, we'll send it. We're sitting here in FLA wanting to send anything and everything at any COST. So, cut the red tape and if anybody has the best route for us to send stuff...say so... or may be we'll just send money. Somehow I think receiving stuff right away is better is a hair better than money, but hey, we're just trying to get stuff to them asap. Be a mother, dad and a 3 yr old with nothing because your everything burnt away. I think I'd like to know that the 3 yr old had at least fresh clothing and a toy... This is totally legit!!!!! help

If the family has a local bank account, you can wire money, it will get their the next day. (That's assuming they have memorized their bank account number, as their financial records likely went up in smoke.)If they do not have one, ask someone you know and trust in San Pedro to accept the wire and disburse the funds in cash.
If you do not know anyone in San Pedro that you trust enough to handle this, you might want to post a message saying this and I am sure one of the "regulars" who live in San Pedro will volunteer to be the conduit for those funds and you can then communicate with that person via private email.
Again, you may think you know what these people need most but believe me, you don't because you are not there and you are not them. Only they do, and the best gift you can give them is to give them the money so that they can buy it.

Susan, I thought there was a Western Union there? Couldn't they just wire the money?

I'm sure there is a Western Union agent in San Pedro, perhaps someone will post the contact info.
Western Union is kind of a "last resort" when it comes to sending money, though....it takes a much larger bite out of the money than banks do for wire transfers. In some places, it can be as high as 20% of the amount being sent, depending upon the amount being sent.
The other problem is people claiming money at Western Union offices usually have to present photo ID. Maybe the agent would waive that if he personally knows the people and maybe their ID survived the fire. But there's a good chance it didn't. Still, its an alternative if there are no others.

western union is a LOT LOT more expensive than a wire transfer to their bank.

i'd do a wire transfer and add the amount i would have paid western union to the gift.

everybody seems to know better...I happen to know what they need because they e-mailed me a list to which I asked they need not be embarrassed to ask for anything. How about someone tell me what clothing and appliances cost in Belize. That might be a determining factor. Sure, we can send money providing they can buy many things...

OK, thanks for the info on Western Union. Obviously, I had not realized that it would take so large a piece.

gwyneth, how can people help you with how much money that you need to send if they don't also have the list? When you ask how much clothing and applicances are, we don't know if you are talking about a couple of t-shirts, some shorts and underwear, or dresses for church; toasters or washing machines.