It’s hard to believe that the first month of the new year is already almost halfway over! Check out a few things that Mano a Mano has been working on over the past few weeks across our 5 counterpart organizations in Minnesota and Bolivia.

2024 Annual Report, Videos, Photos, Stories, Numbers

We have recently shared a variety of 2024 year-end reviews of what Mano a Mano and many partners accomplished together:

12 Years in Our St. Paul Office/Warehouse

12 years ago this week, Mano a Mano was busy moving into our office/warehouse space in St. Paul (925 Pierce Butler Route, St. Paul, MN 55104), and moving out of the home of our Co-Founders Joan and Segundo Velasquez in Mendota Heights, which was our headquarters for our first 19 years of operation!

The backyard “warehouse” where medical supplies used to be stored in Mendota Heights.

Four containers at our current St. Paul warehouse in July 2024 – loading supplies and equipment for shipment to Bolivia.

A distribution of 10,000+ pounds of supplies and equipment sent from Minnesota at our Cochabamba warehouse in December. Our Cochabamba warehouse is also a new addition as of about a decade ago, as part of our shared space in El Abra, Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Watch a video about how and where we started in 1994:

…and take a tour of our shared space in El Abra, Cochabamba, Bolivia (all of the containers pictured below in the thumbnail have been sent from our St. Paul, Minnesota warehouse):

2024 ‘Months in Review’

2025 Schedule for Health Education & Training Workshops for Bolivian Medical Professionals

Check out the 2025 schedule for health education and training workshops hosted by our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia:

Working on Deep Water Well in Tajamar, Bolivia

Our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo is currently working in partnership with the community of Tajamar on a deep water well project:

Tajamar is located on a primary road connecting to the nearby larger town of Punata. The photos below show the existing water tower tank that will receive the additional water made possible by the well.

The Tajamar well is at a final depth of 72 meters (236 feet). The next steps are to widen the bore to 12.5 inches; once we are confident of the bore and water availability, we will install 12 casing pipes. Many of these pipes will have filtering slots (staff will cut into the pipe) to allow water to come inside the casing. Once the casing is installed, the outside of the pipe and the bore opening will be filled with pre-washed and pre-selected rock to serve as additional filtration and water storage. With Mano a Mano’s drilling machine, staff will cleanse the wellbore to make sure that all bentonite and any sludge is removed/pumped out. Once the pump and water pipe is installed, we will measure the water flow rate and have it tested for human consumption.

Thanks Mano a Mano Volunteers!

Thanks to the many volunteers what have helped out at our St. Paul warehouse in recent weeks, including our Wednesday regulars, a group of 8 volunteers from Hennepin Healthcare last week, and dozens of volunteers yesterday (1/12/25) through the Unity Church Coming of Age program! We are preparing supplies and equipment for our next shipment to Bolivia, which we are hoping to be able to schedule very soon for early 2025.

We are grateful to Unity Church for the many ways they partner with Mano a Mano.

Thanks to our 8th(?!?) year of Metro State Social Work students who wrapped up their fall semester with Mano a Mano a few weeks ago through their Community Learning Center Practicum!

Construction on the Mano a Mano Airport is Progressing

Progress on the runway, hangars, and the small terminal/tower are coming along quite well. The work is extensive. We continue to haul hundreds of truck loads of river rock material, which are being chunked to be used on the runway bed. Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo staff are also assembling the cement mixing equipment we have acquired; the mixer will make it much easier to apply the cement on the runway. We should be pouring cement in the coming months. The two large hangars are also progressing. Mano a Mano has purchased the materials for the roof and roof trusses, and we will begin welding the roof trusses soon. Learn more about Mano a Mano’s airport and why we are building this project here.

Harvesting at the CEA in Recent Days

Staff, volunteers, and interns at our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Internacional have been busy in recent days at the Center for Ecological Agriculture (CEA), our fully functional farm in Cochabamba 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.