Distributing Supplies in Bolivia with the Mano a Mano Plane
In Minnesota, Mano a Mano collects donated surplus supplies like crutches, wheelchairs, medical & school supplies. We ship these supplies to Bolivia, where they are distributed to Mano a Mano projects and other organizations throughout Bolivia. We have distributed more than 3.5 million pounds since 1994.
Supplies being distributed at the Mano a Mano hangar in Cochabamba, Bolivia, December 2014
Mano a Mano projects, and the supplies we distribute, are especially focused on small, isolated rural communities. Our aviation program helps with this outreach, allowing Mano a Mano to work in areas that could take hours or days to reach, but only take minutes in the plane.
In the department of Beni, we respond to requests for flights in cases of emergency, where it could take residents 10-20 hours or more to reach emergency care; with the plane we can get them to a hospital in a couple of hours. We also take advantage of flights to transport supplies; here we are dropping off crutches and medical supplies in San Ignacio de Moxo.
Distributing supplies with the Mano a Mano plane in the Beni region of Bolivia.
In 2014 the Mano a Mano aviation program was hugely important after extreme flooding; it allowed us to respond by air-dropping food and supplies to communities that were cut off and also provide weekend health clinics and other support.