Gaining Ground Book Won First Place at MIPA Book Awards
Gaining Ground, Mano a Mano’s book published in 2014, recently won first place in the Inspirational Book category at the Midwest Independent Publishers Association (MIPA) Midwest Book Awards in May 2015. Our co-founders Joan and Segundo Velasquez, and our Bolivian visitors who were in town, attended the awards ceremony, and we are thrilled for Gaining Ground to be recognized!
Gaining Ground: A Blueprint for Community-Based International Development, gives a more detailed look into our community-based development approach (the book is available here).
Joan and Segundo at the Midwest Book Awards last week. Photo credit: MIPA Facebook page
Why Did We Write a Book?
Over our nearly 20 years in existence, we have been approached by many people asking for advice on how they could start similar programs in other countries throughout the world. While we would never argue that everything we have done in Bolivia is replicable in any other country or situation, we feel that many of our core principles and philosophies illustrated in the book will be beneficial information for aspiring philanthropists; staff in government, nonprofit, and development organizations; people who donate or volunteer internationally; and people interested in global issues.
Also, this book is a chance for Mano a Mano to explain its partnership model that emphasizes participation and direct management from the communities themselves, which we feel is not as prevalent for many nonprofits or development organizations as it should be.Gaining Ground is a chance to share our model with more people and also to (hopefully) raise funds for our projects – all proceeds from the book go directly to Mano a Mano.
Gaining Ground: A Blueprint for Community-Based International Development
Launched at a kitchen table in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, Mano a Mano began collecting and shipping medical supplies to impoverished Bolivian communities in 1994. Twenty years later, an organization that once operated exclusively from the founder’s basement has now successfully implemented over 300 infrastructure projects, including medical clinics, schools, roads, and water reservoirs. As a result of their efforts, over 700,000 Bolivians, who face one of the highest rural poverty rates in the world, now have access to health care for the first time. Learn more about the book here.