Mano a Mano started in 1994 with the goal of saving surplus medical supplies from the landfill in Minnesota and shipping them to Bolivia, where we knew these supplies were desperately needed and could be used immediately.

We have grown as an organization since then: building clinics, schools, water reservoirs, wells, water ponds, roads, and greenhouses in partnership with communities; providing emergency air transport; and providing health education and agricultural training programs, among other projects. But distributing medical supplies and equipment continues to be a critical component of our work. We have shipped over 4 million pounds of supplies from Minnesota to Bolivia since our inception (including 175,777 pounds in 2020 and more than 75,000 pounds to date in 2021, with another shipment scheduled for mid-June 2021). These supplies have taken on even more importance during the COVID pandemic, and Mano a Mano has adapted to the current challenges while growing to meet the needs for medical supplies and equipment in Bolivia.

Video: Saving Medical Supplies From the Landfill in Minnesota and Putting Them to Use in Bolivia

Video Credit: William Wroblewski

Thanks to William Wroblewski, staff from our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Internacional, and the local volunteers and beneficiaries in Cochabamba that participated in this video project. All footage was shot in March 2021.

Donate to Mano a Mano

Donations make these shipments possible. You can support Mano a Mano by donating here.