Mano a Mano completed our 171st clinic project in Kaspi Cancha in December 2019, which was dedicated with the community in March 2020 (right before the Bolivia quarantine went into effect; the final report for this project was finished in May). The newly built clinic provides healthcare access to the 1,682 people in the community, and expands the services provided by Mano a Mano’s first clinic built in Kaspi Cancha in 2011. The project was a collaboration between our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia (who oversees and manages the project from inception to completion), the Municipal Government of Tiraque, the Community of Kaspi Cancha, and Mano a Mano International & US Donors. We are very grateful to everyone that is involved in this project in some way!
Kaspi Cancha is a small community in the Tiraque province, department of Cochabamba – about a 1.5-hour drive east of the city of Cochabamba (44% of Mano a Mano’s clinics are within a 3-hour drive from Cochabamba). Our clinic program’s approach is that health outcomes can be dramatically improved with simple yet effective interventions, beginning with the basic ability to consistently access quality services in their own communities.
New Clinic & Dedication Photos
Why This Clinic Was Built
Mano a Mano built a health clinic in 2011 in Kaspi Cancha, staffed with one nurse, which worked well for a number of years. Due to a growing population and large number of patients, a permanent doctor and part-time dentist position were added to the clinic in 2017.
There were a number of reasons why the community was looking to expand the clinic:
- The cramped quarters made it difficult to provide a full range of medical services: managing emergencies were challenging; available public health programs, such as maternal-infant care, were hard to fully develop in the space; and there were no distinct spaces for TB patients, pharmacy, dental, or lab services.
- The only living quarters in the clinic were taken up the nursing position. The doctor on staff was living in Tiraque – a 6 mile walk to and from the clinic every day.
- With a more complete infrastructure, the new health center could be accredited as a “Centro de Salud de Atención Primaria” (First-Level Health Center), which allows it to receive more equipment and support from the Bolivian government/Ministry of Health.
Construction Photos
Providing a Fully Equipped Clinic
Services Provided with the New Clinic
As a Mano a Mano clinic, it will have Volunteer Health Promoter Training and Continuing Health Education workshops provided through our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia; it will also receive equipment and supplies to ensure that it is fully-furnished, and is connected with Mano a Mano Bolivia medical staff via radio for help with any difficult cases or issues. (Mano a Mano Bolivia also constructs many of the items for each clinic project such as beds and exam tables.)
Working Together to Make These Projects Possible
Every project that Mano a Mano does, including this clinic in Kaspi Cancha, depends on many people working together (read more about our partnership model here). Working together, we are able to build these projects for significantly cheaper than what the commercial cost would be (at least 40% less in this case), and combine resources from Mano a Mano, the community, the Municipal Government, the Bolivian Government & Ministry of Health, and donors from the US and elsewhere to complete projects that none of us could do on our own. We are very grateful to everyone that is involved in this project in some way!
The Kaspi Cancha Clinic Project is a Collaboration With:
- our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia (who oversees and manages the project from inception to completion)
- Municipal Government of Tiraque
- The Community of Kaspi Cancha
- Mano a Mano International & US Donors