What To Bring

If you ask any 10 Bingham staff members what incoming staff should bring with them to Bingham, you'll get 10 different responses! It's almost impossible for us to compile a Must Bring list because everyone has different needs and priorities. To help you make the decision about what to put into that precious luggage allowance, we've put together some suggestions of things which others have found useful to have with them. These items may be hard to find in Addis or easy to find, but expensive or poor quality. It may be useful to cross-check your packing list with the apartment inventory. There is a printable copy of the What To Bring list here. The basic rule is: if it's important to you, bring it.

Kitchen and Household

Duvet/comforter, duvet covers, sheets, pillowcases;  bath towels; travel mug (if coffee/tea drinker); photos of friends and family; your own pillow; beach towel; pictures of your home country (e.g. a coffee table book or calendar); permanent, hard wearing water bottles; school backpacks (for school aged children); lunch boxes (for school aged children);  sturdy backpack;  good vegetable peeler; few good kitchen knives & a bread knife (these are provided, but of varying quality); good scissors (and children’s scissors if you have kids - also left hand scissors if needed); small repair kit; sewing/mending kit; good “scotch” tape / sellotape; power strip/international multi-plug extension cables; cold bag (to keep things cold when you buy meat at the supermarket and for picnics and camping); rechargeable batteries and recharger (non-rechargeable batteries are available- mostly AAA, AA, D); good flashlights/lanterns/torches - one for each member of your family.

food & toiletries

Preferred brands of make-up, facial cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, bug spray and lotions; favorite food stuffs (things people often bring: cheese, butter, nuts; dried fruits; drink mixes [Kool Aid, Crystal Lite]; spice mixes for things like tacos, fajitas, sauces, etc.; chocolate chips and other things for baking); Vegemite or Marmite (if you’re from one of these countries!) 

clothing

Sun glasses with UV protection; hat for use in sun; good walking shoes; slippers or house shoes (most apartments have tiled floors); swimsuit; sports clothes and gym shoes; clothes and shoes in a variety of sizes for children to grow into while here; rain boots and rain jackets for the rainy season; clothing for cool weather – it is cooler than you think here! (Slippers and 2-3 sweaters will be necessary!)

Electronics

Laptop, Adapters so that you can use your computer with our data projectors some of which have VGA and some of which have HDMI connections. Make sure you can connect to both types;  adapters from home country to Ethiopian power sockets; lamps for desks / bedrooms with associated bulbs – warm light bulbs can be hard to find.