2023 is almost over! As we look forward to 2024 (when Mano a Mano will be celebrating 30 years in operation!), we want to highlight 5 of the most popular posts we shared this year. Happy New Year, and thanks to everyone that is a part of Mano a Mano!
Thank You For a Busy and Successful 2023!
We shared this summary of some of our work across the first 11 months of 2023 in early December.
A Look Back At What We Did Together in 2022 – Mano a Mano 2022 Annual Report
Our annual report is usually the most popular post each year. Hundreds of thousands of people in Bolivia benefit from Mano a Mano’s health, education, water, road, aviation, food & farming, and medical surplus distribution programs! Below is a summary of our work in 2022:
- Shipped 9 containers with 220,704 pounds of medical supplies and equipment from Minnesota to Bolivia, where they are given to people in need throughout the country. We also regularly distribute to other nonprofits and individuals in the Twin Cities.
- Completed 7 new clinics and a new school. Mano a Mano’s network of 182 clinic projects in Bolivia had 1,129,712 patient visits in 2022.
- Provided emergency transport for 155 people (4,543 emergency flights since our aviation program began); provided transport for volunteer medical professionals for 33 weekend health clinics (482 weekend health clinics since our aviation program began); and transported 487,530 pounds of cargo, mostly medical supplies and equipment, throughout Bolivia.
- Completed 6 deep water wells providing access to potable water, along with progressing on Mano a Mano’s large Punata Regional Complex that includes a reservoir, road, 6-story water tower, airport, school, and other projects over the next few years.
- Provided guided tours to 1,194 visitors (mostly students) and implemented 100 workshops for 2,076 participants, 569 of whom were farmers (the others include professionals, students, teachers, and volunteers). Most of these workshops happen onsite at our CEA in Cochabamba, but we also travel to provide workshops in rural communities or at agronomy institutes in rural areas. We have also provided training and education for many other professions (health, physical therapy, mechanics, etc.).
8 Years as Executive Director, 17+ Years with Mano a Mano – Nate Knatterud-Hubinger
“March 2023 marks 2 milestones for me: I have now been Executive Director of Mano a Mano for 8 years, and I am turning 40! Very rarely do I post about myself, which is by design: I would much rather highlight the great work our staff and volunteers and communities that we partner with are doing every day in Minnesota and Bolivia. But I wanted to look back a bit and share some of my story over 17+ years with Mano a Mano.“
Mano a Mano Volunteer Grace Shares Her Experience in Bolivia from June-August 2023
Grace Jones wrote the following report detailing her experience with our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Internacional in Cochabamba, Bolivia from June 6-August 6 2023. Thank you Grace! Mano a Mano is always interested in working with volunteers like Grace that will be spending some time in Bolivia; feel free to contact us. (As a general rule, we are looking for volunteers that will be in Bolivia for multiple months, are independent and have their accommodations mostly figured out, and speak at least some Spanish.)
Mano a Mano Trip to Bolivia in May
After a few years of challenges, Mano a Mano resumed travel to Bolivia this year! The nine-day mid-May trip coincided with the now-annual celebration of the Laguna Sulti Water Reservoir and the many ways in which it has transformed the thirteen rural communities that directly benefit from water it holds for them to share. But before the Laguna Sulti celebration, those who traveled with us found many additional projects to celebrate together.