Four Containers With Almost 85,000 Pounds of Supplies En Route From Minnesota to Bolivia
This morning, all four containers – that Mano a Mano volunteers have spent the last few days loading – have been picked up from the Mano a Mano warehouse in St. Paul, Minnesota and are starting their journey to Bolivia. Nearly 85,000 pounds of wheelchairs, crutches & walkers, boxes of medical supplies, larger equipment like gurneys, and many other items will be distributed by Mano a Mano in Bolivia to people & organizations in need.
One of the four containers leaving the Mano a Mano warehouse this morning. All four have been picked up today.
Mano a Mano co-founder Segundo Velasquez tagging ‘manoamano-new.mystagingwebsite.com’ on the containers. As part of each shipment, Mano a Mano purchases the containers, so that they can be used in Mano a Mano projects in Bolivia or sold, and to avoid rental charges that add up quickly when there are delays.
Thanks Volunteers!
Thanks to everyone that has helped make this shipment possible! Sending these supplies this week is the culmination of months of hard work: volunteers picking up supplies from around the Twin Cities; volunteers sorting, organizing, and packing supplies at the Mano a Mano warehouse; donors that helped fund the shipping costs (which includes everyone that supported our Festival Bolivia 2016 event); and staff and volunteers in Bolivia that organize supplies for distribution.
A child receiving a donated wheelchair at one of Mano a Mano’s distribution events in Cochabamba, Bolivia, October 2016. More than 90,000 pounds of supplies were distributed to people & organizations throughout Bolivia in October.
Each part is critical to the process, and we could not do this without the support of hundreds of staff, volunteers, and donors.
Video: From Minnesota to Bolivia: Distributing Donated Medical Supplies
Mano a Mano collects donated supplies in Minnesota and ships them to Bolivia, where they are distributed to people and organizations in need throughout the country. The four containers en route will be distributed similarly to our last shipment of supplies, as shown in the video below.
Check out footage and interviews from our most recent large-scale distribution of supplies in October 2016 at the Mano a Mano warehouse in Cochabamba, Bolivia, when more than 90,000 pounds of supplies were given away:
Pictures From Container Loading – Day One (Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017)
Pictures from Container Loading – Days Two & Three (Friday-Saturday, February 10-11, 2017)
October 2016 – Distributing More than 90,000 Pounds of Supplies
In October 2016, Mano a Mano held two distribution events at our warehouse in Cochabamba, Bolivia to distribute the 99,000 pounds of supplies that had been shipped from Minnesota earlier this year. For each of those 2 events (on October 8 and October 22), dozens of organizations from around the country traveled to Mano a Mano to receive donated supplies; some had traveled 2 and a half days to attend. Many individuals came to receive wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and braces.
Here are a few of their stories (watch this video to hear from more recipients of supplies in Bolivia):
- Brian is a young boy whose legs don’t work and is unable to walk. He came with his mother on October 22nd to receive a donated wheelchair. As his mother tried to speak to the crowd at the distribution event, she broke out in tears, overwhelmed with gratitude.
- A level 3 hospital from the department of Beni received an X-Ray machine, in addition to a large quantity of medical supplies. The director of the hospital was extremely grateful, and said that in their area they receive many referrals for broken limbs since they are the only hospital capable of dealing with these issues. He said that the new X-Ray machine will allow them to address many, many more of these emergencies.