Distributing Orthopedic Supplies and Equipment in Cochabamba

Earlier this week on December 3rd, Mano a Mano held a small event at our warehouse to distribute a few orthopedic supplies and equipment to people with physical limitations from 8 municipalities in Cochabamba. In all we distributed 830 items:

• 40 wheelchairs
• 220 walkers
• 150 pairs of crutches
• 420 canes

203,747 Pounds of Supplies Sent from Minnesota to Bolivia in 2019

These items were shipped from Minnesota earlier this year. Mano a Mano’s original goal when we started in 1994 was to save surplus medical supplies from the landfill in Minnesota and ship them to Bolivia, where we knew these supplies were desperately needed and could be used immediately. 25 years later, this program continues to be an integral part of our work. We just sent 4 containers with more than 90,000 pounds of supplies from our St. Paul warehouse, and we have sent 9 containers with 203,747 pounds of supplies and equipment in 2019. These supplies are distributed to people and organizations in need throughout Bolivia: in smaller amounts like this recent distribution, and much larger distribution events a few times a year, like this one last year where dozens of organizations receive tens of thousands of pounds of supplies.

A Gift in Memory of Tamar

You can see the container that was “a gift in memory of Tamar” in the upper left background. A large portion of the supplies we shipped in 2017 was made possible in support of Maya Hanna and Daniel Kaplan’s request to honor their daughter Tamar Kaplan’s 25th golden birthday. From Maya and Daniel’s letter they sent to friends & family: “June 25, 2017 will be Tamar’s 25th birthday. We would like to celebrate her golden birthday in a manner that acknowledges her life, as well as the life she did not get to live.” Tamar tragically died in a car accident in Bolivia in 2013 while traveling in South America. More than $60,000 was raised in memory of Tamar, to help ship and distribute 5 containers with 120,882 pounds of medical supplies and equipment to people in need in Bolivia.

We are happy to keep this message present at our warehouse, and continue to honor Tamar and her friends and family.