Mano a Mano’s Recovered Resources Program – the collection of donated supplies and equipment in Minnesota for distribution throughout Bolivia – is a never-ending process. On a daily basis, in Minnesota we are collecting, organizing, and preparing supplies for shipment; in Bolivia, we are organizing and preparing supplies for distribution.
Every 3-4 months, we schedule a shipment of 2-4 containers from Minnesota to Bolivia, which takes about 3-4 months (sometimes longer) to go from door-to-door in St. Paul to Mano a Mano in Cochabamba.
Recent Shipment Schedule
- December 2023: Shipped 3 containers from Minnesota
- March 2024: Those 3 containers arrived at our warehouse in Bolivia
- April 2024: Loading 3 containers at our Minnesota warehouse for the first shipment of 2024
Our staff and volunteers in Bolivia were busy in late March unloading the 3 containers sent in December, so that we can organize them and then start the process of distributing them to people and organizations throughout the country.
As we unload containers, there are always items that are a higher priority to distribute quickly. Last week, we gathered boxes of wound care supplies for burns that had been shipped and were coming closer to their expiration dates (and had been marked as higher priority during container loading in Minnesota for a quick turnaround in Bolivia), added other supplies from our warehouse that are always in demand, and distributed these supplies to 5 hospitals in the Cochabamba area. As part of the conversations that are always part of the process, some of these hospitals let us know that they didn’t need the facemasks that we had included in the supplies (since they currently have sufficient supplies from prioritizing them throughout COVID), so Mano a Mano will distribute them to other clinics where those supplies would be of better use.
Hospitals that Received Supplies from Mano a Mano – late March 2024
- Hospital Solomon Klein
- Hospital Viedma (burn unit)
- Hospital del Norte
- Hospital Tiquipaya
- Hospital Cuschieri
Learn More About Mano a Mano’s Recovered Resources Program
Mano a Mano collects donated medical supplies, mobility equipment, and other in-demand items in Minnesota for shipment to Bolivia, where they are distributed to people and organizations in need throughout the country. Almost all of these supplies would have ended up in the landfill in Minnesota, and instead they are getting put to good use throughout Bolivia (we also provide supplies to organizations and individuals in the Twin Cities area). Most of these supplies are cost-prohibitive or unavailable at all in Bolivia, making them very helpful for people and organizations with limited resources.
We are currently loading our first shipment of 2024; in 2023 we shipped 9 containers with 228,954 pounds from Minnesota to Bolivia.
- Thank You For a Busy and Successful 2023!
- Making Layette Sets in Minnesota for Distribution in Bolivia
- Thanks St. Thomas Public Health Club Volunteers!
- Distributing Nearly 3 Tons of Medical Supplies and Equipment to Organizations from Oruro and Santa Cruz (October 31st, 2023)
- Equipping a Dental Clinic in the San Antonio Prison in Cochabamba