Loading Over 85,000 Pounds of Supplies for Distribution in Bolivia

Containers at the Mano a Mano warehouse, June 2016.

Containers at the Mano a Mano warehouse in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 2016.

Over the past week, Mano a Mano volunteers have helped load 4 containers with a little over 85,000 pounds of supplies. This includes:

  • Over 1,900 boxes of medical & school supplies
  • 150+ wheelchairs
  • More than 1,600 walkers, canes, and pairs of crutches
  • 41 gaylords (very large boxes that fit on pallets) of orthopedic supplies, hospital materials, and hospital equipment
  • and many other supplies & equipment
Mano a Mano volunteers not wasting any space available to add more supplies!

Mano a Mano volunteers not wasting any space available to add more supplies!

These supplies will be distributed to Mano a Mano projects, other organizations, and people in need throughout Bolivia.

Thanks to Everyone That Has Made This Shipment Possible

A big THANK-YOU to everyone that has helped out! While loading these containers only takes a few days, this whole process takes well over a year from start to finish. If you have picked up supplies, sorted at the Mano a Mano warehouse, attended our event a month ago, made a donation, or helped load this past week, then you have been a part of this shipment – saving supplies from US landfills and putting them to good use somewhere that they are needed.

Unloading Supplies in Bolivia From Previous Shipment – March 2016

In September 2015 – our previous shipment before this week – Mano a Mano volunteers loaded 99,000 pounds of medical supplies into four 40-foot containers at our St. Paul, Minnesota warehouse.

These supplies arrived to Mano a Mano in Cochabamba, Bolivia in March 2016 for staff & volunteers to unload the shipment.

Mano a Mano staff & volunteers unloading supplies in Bolivia, March 2016 from our last container shipment in September 2015.

Mano a Mano staff & volunteers unloading supplies in Bolivia, March 2016 from our last container shipment in September 2015.

Mano a Mano volunteer Ray Wiedmeyer (who was volunteer of the year in 2015 along with his wife Karen Abraham) was in Bolivia in March, and sent the following note along with a few pictures from the unloading on March 28th:

Well, we finally started to unload the 99,000 lbs of medical supplies waiting in 4 – 40ft containers outside the Mano a Mano warehouse. By the looks of it customs never laid a hand on it….everything was as we sent it in September. The 8 folks in the picture and a fresh crew of 3 or 4 more in the afternoon emptied just about 1 full container by the end of our 11 hour day. The way I figure it, that was somewhere around 23,000 lbs moved by hand. Not bad I say.

Distributing Supplies in Bolivia From 2 Shipments Ago – November 2015

Once these supplies arrive in Bolivia and are unloaded and sorted, Mano a Mano will distribute them throughout Bolivia, where they will benefit thousands of people. The shipment that arrived in Bolivia in March 2016 is being prepared for distribution events sometime soon in the coming weeks.

HERE are pictures from our last distribution event in November 2015 where more than 40,000 pounds were distributed at the Mano a Mano hangar in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The video below is taken from the November 2015 distribution:

More Information About Mano a Mano’s Distribution Program

Our surplus distribution program is the program that started Mano a Mano more than 20 years ago; the program focuses on collecting supplies in the Twin Cities area and distributing them in Bolivia. You can learn more about the surplus distribution program at any of the following links:

Support the Mano a Mano Distribution Program

If you are interested in supporting Mano a Mano’s distribution program, you can MAKE A DONATION HERE.