Mano a Mano is keeping busy across our 5 counterpart organizations in Bolivia & Minnesota! Check out a few links from March 2024:
“Highlighting Notable Women in Mac Herstory” including Mano a Mano Co-Founder Joan Velásquez
“In celebration of the current Women’s History Month, The Mac Weekly interviewed six of Macalester’s notable female alumni about their studies and careers. From the lab to social justice, these women have lived impressive lives that inspire the current generation of Macalester women. We hope that this article will become the first in a series spotlighting impressive alumni during their respective history months.”
Making Layette Sets in Minnesota for Distribution in Bolivia
Thank you to the Mano a Mano volunteers for helping put together layettes at our St. Paul warehouse last week! Mano a Mano’s shipments of medical cargo include hundreds of infant layettes, destined for new mothers who come into contact with Mano a Mano in many different ways. (Such as coming to one of our clinics to deliver.) In April, the layettes assembled by this volunteer group, along with hundreds more that have been put together by our three layette volunteer groups during the past few months, will embark on their long journey to Bolivia as part of our next shipment. After they arrive, our Bolivian counterparts will undertake the arduous task of unpacking the containers and organizing their contents for distribution to healthcare programs, schools, and other organizations throughout Bolivia. We are so grateful to our layette volunteers, groups like 3M and St. Thomas Public Health, and our many regular volunteers that make our work possible!
New Health Clinic in Catariri, Bolivia is Complete
Construction on Mano a Mano’s new health clinic in Catariri, Bolivia is complete! There is still work to do, including fully furnishing the clinic, but the brick and mortar portion is done, and the project should be formally dedicated in late April. This clinic will join Mano a Mano’s network of 184 clinics in Bolivia that had 1,389,436 patient visits in 2023 Another Mano a Mano health clinic in San Antonio, a community in the municipality of Aiquile, is also nearing completion.
Physical Therapy Prepares Noemi for the Workplace
Noemi’s internship with our physical therapy program started 4 months ago. Noemi and Mano a Mano staff organize her schedule so she can receive physical therapy every day and also complete her internship assignments.
Providing Healthcare and Physical Therapy Services on a 2-Day Weekend Health Clinic in San Lorenzo, Bolivia
In late February, Mano a Mano’s aviation program supported another very busy 2-day clinic in the deep tropical village of San Lorenzo. (Mano a Mano organizes weekend health clinics almost every weekend of the year, providing 48 in 2023.) This clinic included a major physical therapy component, as well as the medical assessment and care included in all Mano a Mano weekend health clinics.
Celebrating the One-Year Anniversary of the Mamanaca Water Well
Earlier this month, Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo staff were invited to the community of Mamanaca in the municipality of Arbieto to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the completion of their deep water well, and one year of having more consistent access to water. Consistent access to water for Bolivian communities is the goal of Mano a Mano water projects, and we are always working on new wells (like this one in Chaupisuyu) and regularly checking in on the water levels of our larger reservoirs (like Ucuchi, Wirkini, and Laguna Sulti).
School Supplies Destined for Districts in Bolivia’s Tropical Communities
Earlier this month, Mano a Mano achieved an important milestone. In the presence of David Quiroga, Presidente de la coordinadora de pueblos indígenas del trópico de cochabamba (President of the Coordinated Indigenous Communities of the Cochabamba tropics), and Damaris Orihuela, Asambleísta de pueblos indígenas Yuracarés (Assembly member of Indigenous Yuracarés Villages), our Recovered Resources program reached 10 school districts located in the most isolated tropical areas of this large region.