As we have shared, Mano a Mano has made a number of flights recently distributing supplies to healthcare organizations throughout the department of Beni, Bolivia. Here are a few more details about those flights and some more pictures below:

  • 15,432 pounds (7,000 kg) in total were flown to Beni from Cochabamba between May 25 and June 8.
  • 75% of these supplies were donations from Mano a Mano from our normal shipments of supplies from Minnesota to Bolivia.
  • More than 6,000 N95 and surgical masks and 26,000 pairs of surgical and exam gloves were distributed, in addition to hospital clothing and materials, mobility equipment (crutches, wheelchairs, walkers), and boxes of general medical supplies (needles and syringes, wound care supplies, oxygen tubing and equipment).
  • 25% were supplies donated or collected by families and organizations in Cochabamba in support of this Beni campaign.
  • Communities served in Beni included: Trinidad, Riberalta, Guayaramerín, San Ramón, San Ignacio, San Borja, Magdalena, San Joaquín, and San Lorenzo.
  • Beni is the second-hardest hit department in Bolivia regarding number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
  • The physical isolation and pandemic have combined to make it even harder to get supplies to these communities. Guayaramerín is the furthest from Cochabamba, situated on the border with Brazil, and is a 28-hour drive from Cochabamba (2.5 hour flight). San Borja is the closest and is a 16-hour drive and 75 minute flight. In many cases, right now the only place to find supplies is in the major cities, if they are available at all. The cost of supplies and challenge of physically traveling makes this even more difficult. (Mano a Mano’s supplies are donated to communities; donations of supplies in Bolivia are supported by donations to Mano a Mano in the US.)
  • Mano a Mano partnered with International Tribal Ministries on many of these flights with their planes and pilots, in addition to our plane and staff.

Photos: Distributing Supplies in the Department of Beni – May 2020

Medical Supply Distributions in Bolivia & Minnesota: March-June 2020

Loading containers for shipment to Bolivia at the Mano a Mano warehouse in St. Paul, Minnesota – June 2020.