Mano a Mano is keeping busy across our 5 counterpart organizations in Bolivia & Minnesota! Mano a Mano’s mission is: “Partnering together – Hand in Hand – to transform the health and well-being of Bolivian communities in need.” We accomplish that mission by building community-based projects and complementary programs in Bolivia that provide consistent access to healthcare, education, water, mobility equipment, physical therapy, transportation, and more. These projects are always done in partnership with local communities (with the support of many other people in Bolivia, Minnesota, and elsewhere), are managed and owned by the communities once complete, and are built to last long-term.

Mano a Mano’s mission is: “Partnering together – Hand in Hand – to transform the health and well-being of Bolivian communities in need.”

Check out a few updates from April 2024:

Containers of Supplies on Their Way From Minnesota to Bolivia

3 containers filled with supplies at our St. Paul warehouse, ready to start their journey to Bolivia – April 2024.

Three 40-foot containers were picked up from Mano a Mano’s Minnesota warehouse on April 15th, 2024 to start their journey to Bolivia. Mano a Mano volunteers spent the previous week loading 3 containers with roughly 40 tons (79,545 pounds, to be precise) of donated medical supplies, mobility equipment, and other items at our St. Paul warehouse for shipment to Bolivia, where they will be distributed to people and organizations in need throughout the country. This is our first shipment of 2024; in 2023 we shipped 9 containers with 228,954 pounds from Minnesota to Bolivia.

Distributing Supplies in Bolivia

Supplies sent from Minnesota are distributed to people and organizations throughout Bolivia; here are a few examples from April:

Donating crutches as part of the dedication of Mano a Mano’s new health clinic in Catariri.
Setting up at Mano a Mano’s Cochabamba site for a distribution of lotes of medical supplies and mobility equipment sent from Minnesota for 13 healthcare organizations from the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia – mid-April 2024.
Health Education Workshop: Training Physicians to Use Bakri Balloons in Bolivia, including the distribution of Bakri Balloons acquired by Mano a Mano in Minnesota.
Distributing Burn Care Supplies from Minnesota to Hospitals in Cochabamba, April 2024
Unloading containers at our Cochabamba warehouse in March 2024 from our last Minnesota shipment in December 2023.
Map of 2023 Supply Distributions in Bolivia

Dedicating a New Health Clinic in Catariri, Bolivia (April 2024)

Dedicating a New Health Clinic in Catariri, Bolivia (April 2024)

Last week, Mano a Mano celebrated the dedication of our 185th health clinic project in the community of Catariri, Bolivia! The community of Catariri, local leaders, Municipal leaders, visitors from MELA (who were in Bolivia for a health education workshop the previous week), staff from our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia, and staff from our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Internacional were present to officially dedicate this new clinic. The Catariri clinic joins Mano a Mano’s network of 184 clinics in Bolivia that had 1,389,436 patient visits in 2023.

Animals of the Center for Ecological Agriculture (CEA) in Cochabamba

Mano a Mano’s Center for Ecological Agriculture (CEA) is a fully functional farm in El Abra, Cochabamba, Bolivia that provides training, tools, and tours demonstrating ways to improve food security and nutrition for Bolivian farm families. In addition to multiple types of greenhouses, hydroponic gardens for food and fodder, dry bathrooms, a biodigester, composting, and more on display, the CEA also has many farm animals and livestock.

Health Education Workshop: Training Physicians to Use Bakri Balloons in Bolivia

On April 4th-5th, our counterpart organizations Mano a Mano Bolivia and Mano a Mano Internacional, in collaboration with the Bolivian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology – Cochabamba and the Hospital Materno Infantil German Urquidi, delivered a two-day workshop on “Zero Maternal Deaths due to Hemorrhage.”

Taking a Boat Ride on the Laguna Sulti Water Reservoir – April 2024

A group of visitors in Laguna Sulti on Sunday took the opportunity to go for a boat ride on the water reservoir!

Traveling by Horseback or Canoe for Weekend Health Clinics in Rural Bolivia

When Mano a Mano travels to rural Bolivian communities for weekend health clinics, sometimes there is also a portion of the trek that requires horseback or canoe to get to the community. (In addition to flying on the Mano a Mano plane for the main portion of the travel, which turns a many-hour trip by car/bus into 1-2 hours by plane, allowing volunteer Bolivian healthcare professionals the chance to spend a 2-day weekend seeing patients rather than traveling the whole time.) Our aviation program has a weekend health clinic scheduled most weekends of the year – in 2023 we provided 48 weekend health clinics.

International Health Education Conference (April 2024)

Our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia recently wrapped up its 7th “Soporte Vital en Trauma Prehospitalario” International Health Education Conference in partnership with volunteer medical professionals from the US & Bolivia presenting and providing training, with attendees traveling from throughout Bolivia to attend this workshop at Mano a Mano Bolivia’s offices in Cochabamba. These more advanced collaborative courses (30 to date) complement Mano a Mano Bolivia’s more frequent basic health education workshops (188 to date).

Volunteers and Travelers Helping Out on a Daily Basis

Volunteer medical professionals traveling with Mano a Mano for a recent weekend health clinic (thanks @gardy.ii for sharing this pic on Instagram!)
Thank you to the volunteers from Amazon Web Services that helped out at Mano a Mano’s St. Paul warehouse last week!
Volunteers loading containers for shipment from Minnesota to Bolivia
Dream Fund (Fondo Sonar) students sorting medical supplies at Mano a Mano Bolivia’s warehouse
Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo staff having lunch
Mano a Mano staff, volunteers, and interns unloading containers sent from Minnesota in December 2023 at our Cochabamba warehouse in March/April 2024

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