Despite some shipping costs increasing by 150% and other new shipping challenges due to COVID, Mano a Mano shipped 7 containers with 180,180 pounds of medical supplies and equipment from Minnesota to Bolivia in 2021. (We averaged 187,951 pounds shipped over the previous 4 years.) 276 organizations in Bolivia received supplies and equipment from Mano a Mano last year.

In addition, we also distributed tens of thousands of pounds of supplies to other nonprofits and to people in need locally in the Twin Cities. All of these supplies would have ended up in local landfills; instead they are helping people in Bolivia, Minnesota, and other countries.

276 Organizations in Bolivia Received Supplies and Equipment

In Minnesota, Mano a Mano collects donated medical supplies and equipment for shipment to Bolivia, where we distribute them to people and organizations in need throughout the country.

215 organizations received medical supplies and equipment (which includes mobility supplies and equipment)
34 organizations received mobility supplies and equipment specifically
12 organizations received physical therapy items specifically (PT items were also included in many of the medical supplies distributions for health organizations)
15 schools and organizations received school supplies (with a total school population of 550)
421 individuals received medical supplies and mobility equipment

Staff from the Hospital San Juan de Dios, a 3rd level hospital in Oruro, traveled to our Cochabamba warehouse to pick up supplies in late March. This donation was a collaboration with the Rotary Club Oruro.

Distributed 10,361 Mobility Aids

Mano a Mano Internacional distributed 10,361 mobility aids to organizations (including our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia) and individuals throughout Bolivia, which includes the following items:

574 wheelchairs
2,211 walkers
3,268 pairs of crutches
3,501 canes
Other items including specialty wheelchairs, walkers with seats and wheels, etc.

Walkers, canes, and wheelchairs at our warehouse in Cochabamba, getting prepared for a shipment to Oruro in June 2021.

This is one wheelchair given to Gustavo in Trinidad in May 2021:

Volunteers in Bolivia Contributed 8,912 Hours

Mano a Mano depends on volunteers to complete our work. While this work is challenging enough in normal circumstances, 2021 was not normal; we are very grateful to the dedication and commitment of volunteers and staff that had to navigate a global pandemic for the second consecutive year. The number of hours in 2021 for this distribution program was nearly double the hours volunteered in 2020 (4,981 hours volunteered in 2020). Thank you to the medical, dental, and other healthcare professionals; university students; nursing students; volunteers from abroad; volunteer groups from civic and governmental organizations in Bolivia; Mano a Mano staff that contributed extra time; and everyone that gives their time to make these distributions possible! These volunteer hours only include time spent with our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Internacional and do not include the thousands of hours of volunteer time contributed with our 4 other counterpart organizations (3 in Cochabamba and 1 in St. Paul, Minnesota).

Volunteers from Bolivian organizations like GEOS contribute many hours to help sort medical supplies at our Cochabamba warehouse. This was taken in March 2021 and was preparing a distribution for health centers in Baures, in the department of Beni.

More Information About Medical Distributions Made in Bolivia in 2021:

Pictures of Distributions in Bolivia in 2021

: Distribution event at Hospital

: Mano a Mano staff and volunteers loading medical supplies and equipment at our Cochabamba warehouse for transport to Oruro, June 2021.

: All 3 containers filled and ready to start on their way to Bolivia – March/April 2021.

: Supplies from Mano a Mano, ready for distribution in Tarija – October 26th, 2021.

: Distributing medical supplies and equipment sent from Minnesota for Mano a Mano Bolivia, February 2021.

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: Read about Mano a Mano in this article in the Midway Como Frogtown Monitor.

: Mano a Mano and Rotary Club Oruro distributed medical supplies and equipment to 18 Oruro-area health centers on Friday, June 25th.

: Volunteers from Bolivian organizations like GEOS contribute many hours to help to sort medical supplies at our Cochabamba warehouse.

: Mano a Mano heavy equipment helps unload a container sent from Minnesota at our offices in Cochabamba, Bolivia, mid-2021.

: A newborn receiving a Mano a Mano layette.

: Supplies sent from Mano a Mano International in St. Paul go to our counterpart Mano a Mano Internacional in Cochabamba, which are then distributed by Mano a Mano Internacional to organizations throughout Bolivia. Here our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia is picking up a truckload of medical supplies and equipment from Mano a Mano Internacional.

: Loading Mano a Mano’s Cessna Caravan at our hangar at the Jorge Wilstermann Cochabamba Airport

: Preparing mobility equipment at the Mano a Mano Internacional warehouse for distribution to Mano a Mano Bolivia, February 2021.

: Larry refurbishing sewing machines at Mano a Mano.

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: Volunteers on the path to Yucomo with Pascuala’s wheelchair.

: One of the 18 health centers in the Oruro area that received medical supplies and mobility equipment from Mano a Mano on June 25th, 2021.

: Sewing machines, refurbished by Larry, packed and ready to go to Bolivia in our next shipment.

: Mano a Mano staff in Cochabamba unload canoes sent from Minnesota; these boats were distributed to communities living in the Bolivian Amazon where boats on the many rivers are a primary means of travel.

: Mano a Mano’s 2 containers being loaded onto trucks after clearing Bolivian Customs in La Paz; they will arrive at our Cochabamba warehouse tomorrow morning.

: Picking up supplies and equipment at Mano a Mano’s warehouse in El Abra, Cochabamba where all of our containers from Minnesota are sent.

: 7: Donating a wheelchair for Gustavo in Trinidad, Beni in May.

: A container of medical supplies sent from Minnesota arriving at Mano a Mano’s warehouse in Cochabamba, Bolivia, 2020.

: Students from Metro State and St. Kate’s help load containers with medical supplies and equipment for Bolivia.

: The 3 containers leaving Customs in La Paz, on their way to our warehouse in Cochabamba.

: Mano a Mano staff and volunteers prepare these layette sets for distribution at our warehouse in Cochabamba, Bolivia – late July 2021.

: Distributing supplies for

: As part of Mano a Mano’s weekend health clinics, we also transport medical supplies and equipment, food, and other items to take advantage of all available space on our plane. No wasted space!

: Nursing students from CEFTE-Chapare take a break from their volunteer work with Mano a Mano, sorting supplies sent from Minnesota to prepare them for distribution throughout Bolivia. Medical professionals from Hospital Combase also take part in these volunteer sessions, here providing some guidance and training for the nursing student volunteers.

: “We feel very happy and moved to work together, we want to be a bridge and a helping hand that is willing to reach out to any hand in the world. Let us have an attitude of solidarity, as a municipality let us help with our good will to also reach out to other smaller municipalities in the department that need help.” El Gobierno Autónomo Municipal de Tarija and the Secretaría de Desarrollo Humano y Gestión Social Municipal

: Mano a Mano staff and volunteers loading medical supplies for distribution to health centers in Oruro, Bolivia.

: Pascuala sitting in her wheelchair for the first time.

: Loaning wheelchairs to the Mayor’s Office of Cochabamba to support their COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

: 7: Mano a Mano transports some supplies by plane, like this distribution to Baures, Bolivia.

: Staff from the Hospital San Juan de Dios, a 3rd level hospital in Oruro, traveled to our Cochabamba warehouse to pick up supplies in late March. This donation was a collaboration with the Rotary Club Oruro.