A Day in the Life of a Logistics Coordinator

Next week Aid Sudan is building a radio tower in Tonj, South Sudan. I am managing the project and all of the logistics for it. Everything was going along well until two days ago. I had booked the construction team of five on a commercial flight from Nairobi to Rumbek, South Sudan. In addition to the five guys, we also had over 100 kg of cargo. As I was giving the details of the cargo to carrier, they informed me that they could not carry one very important tool called a hangman pulley. This tool is a long pipe with hooks that breaks down into two 3 meter long pieces. Certain restrictions prevented the airline from carrying these pieces in the cabin and they would not fit in the baggage area. So I began exploring other options with some of the charter organizations, praying that something might turn up. Many times they have flights that have space available on flights that have been chartered by other organizations to carry people and cargo. As of this morning, I had not been able to turn up any possibilities. I was about to give up and charter a full plane. The problem with this was that it would cost $7000 instead of $3000 and put me way over-budget for this part of the project. I hated to spend an extra four grand just because of two pieces of pipe, but it seemed I had no choice. I had prayed it through and contacted everyone I could think of, and God hadn’t opened any doors. Then late this afternoon I got a call from AIM Air. They would be able to carry the hangman pulley to Tonj! But to make things even better, the plane would also be going up to Malualkon where I have another 100 kg of cargo that I have been trying to get to Tonj for some time. So this plane can also take my cargo from there to Tonj, which will save money and complications later. I love it when God not only answers a prayer, but also takes care of another problem that you weren’t even asking about!