During the week of May 25-29, Mano a Mano received permission to fly PPE, medical supplies, and equipment to support hospitals and organizations in need in the department of Beni, Bolivia. Beni has the second-most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Bolivia, and it has put a heavy strain on their local healthcare systems. Having adequate supplies has been a challenge for healthcare organizations throughout the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are happy to help provide supplies throughout Bolivia, which we have been doing for 25 years.

Monday’s flight was our first flight since March; the quarantine in Bolivia has strict guidelines, and most of our programs and daily work have been put on hold during this time. We had to receive government permission for our staff and volunteers to leave their homes to distribute medical supplies from our warehouses in Cochabamba early on in the quarantine in March, and the flights this week were approved specifically to distribute supplies for COVID-19 support. Having a plane available allows us to reach communities like these in Beni in an hour; driving from Cochabamba to Beni would be an 18+ hour drive each way, and many of the roads aren’t even accessible during this time of year.

Donating Medical Supplies for Riberalta and Guayaramerin in Beni – Thursday, May 28, 2020

Preparing to load the Mano a Mano plane with supplies at the Mano a Mano Aviation hangar in Cochabamaba to fly to the department of Beni this morning to distribute more medical supplies for Riberalta and Guayaramerin. Thursday, May 28, 2020.

Video: Donating Supplies in Riberalta

Donating PPE & Medical Supplies to Hospital German Busch and Hospital Centinela in Beni – Monday, May 25, 2020

Mano a Mano and local mission groups flew 3 planes of PPE & medical supplies from Cochabamba to the department of Beni on Monday, May 25 to support Hospital German Busch and Hospital Centinela.

Supplies at the Mano a Mano hangar in the Cochabamba airport, ready to be loaded onto the planes to go to Beni. Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Video: Staff from Hospital German Busch Saying Thank You for the Supplies

Staff from the Intensive Therapy department of Hospital German Busch in the department of Beni, Bolivia say thanks for the supplies sent by Mano a Mano earlier this week. Mano a Mano received permission to fly to the Beni throughout this week to donate medical supplies & PPE for COVID relief efforts (most flights are not possible at this time due to the current quarantine order).

Unitel Video – at the Mano a Mano Hangar on Sunday

Unitel (full news segment here) was at our hangar in Cochabamba on Sunday as we loaded the planes to interview Ben Samuel Martinez, Executive Director of our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Internacional:

Los Tiempos Video – Distributing Supplies in Beni on Monday

Los Tiempos flew with us to Beni to cover the distribution (video below):

Donating Supplies to San Ramon, San Joaquin, and Magdalena in Beni – Friday, May 29

Supplies at the Mano a Mano hangar at the Cochabamba airport being prepared for loading to distribute in San Ramon, San Joaquin, and Magdalena in Beni – Friday, May 29

Video: San Joaquin Municipal Government Receiving Supplies and Thanking Mano a Mano

Photos of May 25-29 Flights to Beni

Supplies are Donated in Minnesota and Shipped to Bolivia

The majority of the supplies sent this week to Beni were part of our shipment from our Minnesota warehouse in November 2019; we have been distributing supplies & equipment to dozens of hospitals and healthcare organizations throughout Bolivia over the past few months; in 2019 Mano a Mano gave 203,747 pounds of supplies to 232 organizations. Mano a Mano has also received support from people and local organizations in Bolivia providing additional supplies to help with COVID-19 efforts – thank you to the many people involved that make this work possible!

Supplies en route from Minnesota to Bolivia – November 2019

Medical Supply Distributions in Bolivia & Minnesota: March-May 2020

Flying Medical Supplies & Equipment to Beni for COVID-19 Support