Over the past week, Mano a Mano volunteers have worked hard to load 4 40-foot containers with more than 45 tons – 91,556 pounds – of medical supplies and equipment at our Minnesota warehouse. These containers are now en route to Bolivia, where Mano a Mano will distribute them to people and organizations in need throughout the country. Since 1994, we have distributed over 4 million pounds of supplies and equipment.
No Wasted Space In Our Container Shipments


Shipment Details
- The 4 containers have 91,556 pounds of supplies and equipment. Almost all of these supplies are donations from people and organizations in the Twin Cities to Mano a Mano; the vast majority would end up in our local Minnesota landfills.
- More than 2,600 boxes of medical supplies are being shipped.
- There is always a lot of mobility equipment in our shipments. These containers include 245 wheelchairs, 800 pairs of crutches, and 1,158 canes, among many other mobility items.
- Some of the supplies are being shipped in crates made from the excess plywood used by many Twin Cities businesses during demonstrations over the past month. KSTP ran a story about it here.
- We were happy to help another Midwest nonprofit that works in Bolivia ship some of their supplies in these containers.
Thanks Volunteers!
Loading containers is always a lot of hard work. These 4 containers were made more difficult as we limited the number of volunteers to maintain safe distancing. We are sincerely grateful to the people that made this work over the past week, and to the hundreds of people that picked up or dropped off supplies and helped sort and pack everything over the past 6+ months in preparation for this shipment! Once everything arrives in Bolivia, it is the same story in reverse: Mano a Mano staff and volunteers will start the challenging work of unloading supplies at our Cochabamba warehouse, organizing them, and distributing them on a near-daily basis for the next few months.
Medical Supply Distributions in Bolivia & Minnesota: March-June 2020
- More Than 15,000 Pounds of Supplies Flown to Beni in Late May/Early June
- Minnesota National Guard Loads Supplies For Honduras
- Flying Medical Supplies & Equipment to Beni for COVID-19 Support
- Donating PPE & Medical Supplies to Hospital German Busch and Hospital Centinela in Beni
- Donating PPE and Medical Supplies to 33 Organizations Responding to COVID-19 in Bolivia
- Distributing PPE & Medical Supplies to 70 Organizations in Bolivia
- Donating Supplies to Southside Harm Reduction Services in Minneapolis
- Donating PPE and Medical Supplies to Hospital Gineco-Obstetrico in Sucre, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
- Distributing Supplies, Equipment, and Food in Bolivia
- Mano a Mano Will Be Closed Until May 4th
- Mano a Mano, Our Medical Supply Program, and COVID-19 Updates
- Distributing Donated Medical Supplies in Cochabamba
- Donating Supplies to Hospital Cochabamba
- Donating Supplies to Red Cross Potosi
- Distributing Supplies in Bolivia – March 2020
- Sorting Supplies from Minnesota for Distribution in Bolivia

Every Dollar Donated Distributes $15 of Supplies
All of the supplies that we ship to Bolivia are distributed to people in need, for free. We want to ensure that these supplies go to those that are most in need; they simply don’t have the resources to purchase these items. To be able to donate these supplies to people in need, Mano a Mano depends on your support. If you would like to help, you can make a donation here.