Joan and Segundo Velasquez – Sustainable Suppliers

It started with a visit home to Bolivia. In 1994, Segundo Velasquez got a request from his brother, a pediatrician in their home country of Bolivia. Could Segundo get his hands on discarded medical supplies in Minnesota and bring them with him on his next trip home? Segundo could and he did. What happened next is, well, astonishing. Seeing a way to build on this simple idea, Segundo, 71, and Joan, 80, who brought her extensive background in social service policy and practice to bear, founded Mano a Mano International Partners. Since 1994, the non-profit has developed partnerships with local community leaders to identify health and educational needs throughout Bolivia. As a result, the organization has shipped more 4,000,000 pounds of supplies, built 177 community health clinics that serve 1 million patients each year. They have constructed 67 schools, carved 1,200 miles of arterial roads on mountain terrain, and drilled deep wells and built reservoirs that make water available to more than 85,000 people. In addition to their clinics and schools, they created an air rescue service that’s airlifted 4,449 sick and injured people from isolated communities, bringing them to lifesaving care in urban hospitals. They created a Center for Ecological Agriculture where rural Bolivian farmers, community leaders, and students can learn about sustainable land and water use. Most importantly, each of these projects is still in operation, owned, staffed, and maintained by the Bolivian people.

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Learn More About Mano a Mano

• Halfway Through 2022: Working Together to Help Bolivian Communities
• Buy Mano a Mano’s Book “Gaining Ground”
• Segundo Velasquez Wins $100,000 Prize For Mano a Mano as Opus Prize Finalist in 2012
• Joan Velasquez Wins Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service in 2008
• Segundo Velasquez is Metro State’s 2000 Alumni of the Year