On November 17, residents of Sancayani, Bolivia came out to participate in a community work day. Mano a Mano is currently constructing a 7-kilometer channel and large water reservoir that, when complete, will provide water to more than 21,000 area residents. This project has been a long time in the making and has been very challenging; Sancayani is deep in the Andes Mountains at an elevation of more than 12,000 feet, and there is constant fog, mud, and sub-freezing temperatures. Last Thursday, more than 300 people – men and women, young and old – volunteered to help finish up the reservoir in Sallamani Chico (one of two reservoirs that are part of this project).
Mano a Mano heavy equipment working alongside volunteers
Aerial view - this is our biggest water project to date.
Volunteers lining the wall with rocks
Many of the residents expressed their thanks, and said that before this project they had never had a water reservoir in their community before and were very excited to be on the verge of having their own. Representatives and engineers from the mayor’s office of Tiraque also participated; they are impressed with the scale of the project and have asked to work with us more on future projects.
Community work days like these are one part of the process to make these huge infrastructure projects a reality, and we are very grateful to the community members of Sancayani who are proving their commitment to the project!