Bolivian Ingenuity

Bolivian Ingenuity

Mano a Mano volunteer Ray W. is currently in Bolivia, and has been sending updates about his time there. He sent this one recently about their efforts unloading 99,000 pounds of surplus supplies that recently arrived from Minnesota:

Bolivian ingenuity. I continue to underestimate it. So what do you do when you have pallets weighing hundreds of pounds and you can’t use your forklift because you have several inches of loose dirt? Why overnight you take some hardened scrap steel and you make your Bobcat into a forklift, able to handle any old terrain. I’m not even going to mention the Americano solution I had come up with…..sheesh!

Unloading 99,000 Pounds of Medical Supplies in Bolivia

In September 2015, Mano a Mano volunteers loaded 99,000 pounds of medical supplies into four 40-foot containers at our St. Paul, Minnesota warehouse. The supplies were destined for Bolivia, where we distribute them to Mano a Mano projects, other organizations, and individuals in need.

These supplies recently arrived to Mano a Mano in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and staff & volunteers have started to unload the shipment.

Ray Wiedmeyer sent the following note along with a few pictures from the unloading on March 28th:

Well, we finally started to unload the 99,000 lbs of medical supplies waiting in 4 – 40ft containers outside the Mano a Mano warehouse. By the looks of it customs never laid a hand on it….everything was as we sent it in September. The 8 folks in the picture and a fresh crew of 3 or 4 more in the afternoon emptied just about 1 full container by the end of our 11 hour day. The way I figure it, that was somewhere around 23,000 lbs moved by hand. Not bad I say.

Unloading Supplies in Bolivia (Pictures)

Once these supplies are unloaded and sorted, Mano a Mano will distribute them throughout Bolivia, where they will benefit thousands of people. (HERE are pictures from our last distribution event in November 2015 where more than 40,000 pounds were distributed at the Mano a Mano hangar in Cochabamba, Bolivia.)

Attend Our Event on April 23rd & Help Support Our Next Shipment of Supplies to Bolivia

Mano a Mano currently has more than 70,000 pounds of supplies packed and ready to go at our St. Paul warehouse. To cover the costs, all funds raised at our upcoming event on April 23rd, 2016 will go towards shipping this next round of supplies in May/June 2016.

By attending the event or making a donation, you can help reduce waste in Minnesota (most of these supplies would end up in Minnesota landfills) and improve lives in Bolivia.

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets. Register soon: tickets are only available for another week.

We hope to see you there. Mano a Mano started collecting surplus supplies in 1994, and we are extremely grateful and humbled by the generosity of the thousands of Minnesota supporters that have been part of this program. We couldn’t do it without you!