Our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia partners with Bolivian communities to provide access to healthcare and education through the construction of clinics and schools, as well as providing complementary programs that support these same goals. In the first half of 2022, we completed 2 new clinics and a new school – all during the last week of March 2022 – with 2 other clinics nearing completion, and other projects in process. Mano a Mano’s network of 178 clinic projects in Bolivia had 559,439 patient visits in the first half of 2022.
New Health & Education Projects Built in the First Half of 2022
- Chirusi Rosario school
- Guadalupe clinic
- Estaño Colorado clinic
- Villa Nueva clinic (completed, but not formally dedicated)
- San Rafael clinic (nearly complete)
Chirusi Rosario School – Dedicated March 25, 2022
Guadalupe Clinic – Dedicated March 30, 2022
Mano a Mano formally dedicated a new clinic in the community of Guadalupe on March 30th! Every Mano a Mano project is a partnership: thank you to our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia, who oversees the process of building clinics from start to finish; the local community of Guadalupe and municipal government of Santa Rosa del Sara that participated throughout the process; and the US funders that provided the seed money that made this project possible! This clinic was dedicated in memory of Mary K. Wick.
Estaño Colorado Clinic – Dedicated March 31, 2022
Mano a Mano dedicated a new clinic in the community of Estaño Colorado on March 31st! This project is a partnership with Mano a Mano Bolivia and Mano a Mano International Partners; the local community of Estaño Colorado and municipal government of Chimore that participated throughout the process; and donations in honor of Virginia Carpenter Ver Ploeg that made this clinic possible. Thank you to the many people involved!
Villa Nueva Clinic – Construction Nearly Complete (July 2022)
Construction of our new clinic in Villa Nueva is nearly complete! There is still more work to be done before the project is finished and can be formally dedicated, but we are happy to see the progress on this clinic.
San Rafael Clinic – Construction Completed July 27, 2022
Construction of our new clinic in San Rafael is complete! (There is still some work to be done before the clinic can be formally dedicated.) San Rafael is located in the municipality of Villa Tunari, province of Chapare, department of Cochabamba. The community has a population of 4,800 and is a 3-hour drive from Cochabamba. Construction began on December 20, 2021 and was completed on July 27, 2022.
Why We Build Health Clinics in Rural Bolivia
With each clinic Mano a Mano builds, the goals are the same:
- Improve maternal and infant health.
- Increase the number of medically-assisted births.
- Easier access to family planning services.
- Access to primary care and immunizations.
- Stronger preventative care and public health education.
- Improve access to government public health programs.
- Permanent training of health personnel.
Ongoing Funding for Mano a Mano Clinic Staff in Bolivia
With Mano a Mano clinics, they become part of the Bolivian healthcare system and are the official provider for their catchment area, making them eligible for services and reimbursement through Health Ministry-funded programs. All staff salaries in Mano a Mano’s clinics are paid for by sources within Bolivia. We currently have 534 doctors, nurses, and dentists working in Mano a Mano’s network of clinics, and Mano a Mano does not pay for any staff salaries on an ongoing basis. With this partnership agreement, we can ensure that there is stable funding in place, and we can continue to complete new infrastructure projects in communities that currently do not have local access to care.
Continuing Health Education
A critical component of Mano a Mano’s health programs in Bolivia is to provide health education:
- to communities through weekend health clinics providing basic services
- to Mano a Mano’s clinic staff through continuing health education workshops
- to medical professionals from other organizations
These programs are managed and administered by Mano a Mano Bolivia, and serve a complementary role to the construction of community clinics throughout rural Bolivia. Although workshops continue to be somewhat limited in 2022 due to COVID, Mano a Mano Bolivia hosted 9 health education workshops for 655 attendees in the first half of 2022.
Providing Medical Supplies & Equipment
Mano a Mano International (our St. Paul office) provides medical supplies and equipment sent from Minnesota to Mano a Mano’s programs in Bolivia. Mano a Mano Bolivia made 261 distributions of medical supplies and equipment to Mano a Mano clinics, other hospitals and healthcare organizations, individuals, jails, and other institutions. Mano a Mano Bolivia also has a workshop location where they build desks, chairs, beds, and other needed equipment for schools & clinics so that when we turn the project over to the community it is fully furnished.

Interview with Chirusi Teacher About Their New School, and Staff & Patients About the Palca Clinic – June 2022
In June 2022, we checked in with community members about 2 of our completed projects: the new school in Chirusi Rosario, 3 months after its completion; and the health clinic in Palca that was completed in 2019.
Chirusi Rosario School
Mabel Delgadillo Correa is a teacher at the school, and she talks about the impact that the new school has for the community. (The Chirusi Rosario school portion of the video starts at the 2:05 mark. It’s a 5-minute video overall about our comprehensive Punata Regional Complex project in the area.)
Palca Clinic
On August 20, 2019 Mano a Mano dedicated a new health clinic in Palca, Bolivia. Staff from Mano a Mano Bolivia visited the community in June 2022 to talk with clinic staff and patients:
Thank You!
Every Mano a Mano project is a partnership, with many people working together – thanks to the local communities; municipal governments; the Bolivian Ministry of Health; donors and volunteers in the US, Bolivia, and other countries; and our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia that oversees and manages these health & education projects!
There is always more work to be done: we currently have one clinic that is under construction, 2 communities with signed agreements for clinics, and 32 communities on our clinic project waiting list. (We have 36 communities on our waiting list for community projects – schools, teacher housing, community bathrooms – as well.)
Learn More About Mano a Mano’s Health Programs in Bolivia
- Halfway Through 2022: Working Together to Help Bolivian Communities
- Mano a Mano Clinics: 1,107,024 Patient Visits in 2021
- What Does Mano a Mano Do?
- Our Counterpart Organization Mano a Mano Bolivia on Facebook
Pictures from Health & Education Programs – First Half of 2022
- San Rafael clinic.
- Kids in their new classroom in Chirusi Rosario.
- In Mano a Mano Bolivia’s workshop in El Abra, Cochabamba, staff are busy making desks for a Mano a Mano Bolivia infrastructure project.
- Mano a Mano’s new clinic in Estano Colorado will be formally dedicated in the next few weeks.
- Dream Fund students at Mano a Mano Bolivia’s office/warehouse in Cochabamba.
- Mano a Mano’s clinic in Guadalupe, which was dedicated on March 30, 2022.
- The community gathering to dedicate the new clinic on March 31, 2022.
- Watch this video to learn more about Mano a Mano Bolivia’s training programs.
- Dr. Jose Velasquez formally turning over the keys during the dedication ceremony with the community of Estano Colorado, March 31, 2022.
- Mano a Mano’s new 2-story school in Chirusi Rosario will be formally dedicated in the next few weeks.
- Dr. Sergio Zegarra (right) providing training during a Mano a Mano Bolivia workshop.