Visiting a Few Mano a Mano Projects
Mano a Mano co-founder Segundo Velasquez is currently in Bolivia, where in a few days he will be joined by nine Minnesota teachers, who will be hosting a professional development workshop for rural teachers in Arani, Bolivia in collaboration with Mano a Mano. This is the third consecutive year we have done this workshop in Arani; here is some more info from the pilot workshop in 2013.
This week, a group of Rotary members from Minnesota and Canada are in Bolivia with Segundo to visit some of the Mano a Mano projects that they have supported.
Over the past few days Segundo has been visiting a few Mano a Mano projects; here’s a couple of photo updates from his site visits:
Wirkini Water Reservoir
Mano a Mano is currently building a water reservoir project in Wirkini, Bolivia. Construction began in May 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2015. Wirkini is a small community located in the Province of Tiraque, Department of Cochabamba, and is about 12,700 feet above sea level in the Bolivian Altiplano.
Segundo’s note: Working on the Wirkini water Reservoir on a cold, wet, windy and foggy day. A couple of days ago the weather was great. Today it was horrible. We really need a couple more dump trucks to maximize our manpower. Soon the mayor’s office will send two dump trucks to help. The project looks great.
Ucuchi Water Reservoir Filled with Water
This water reservoir in Ucuchi was the first reservoir we ever built in 2005; 3,600 people directly benefit from the project. In its first year after completion, 640 hectares of land were being irrigated, as opposed to 250 hectares previously, and personal incomes went from $150/year to $300/year. (We have also done improvement projects over the years, like improving the water collection channels in 2014.)
Segundo’s note: Ucuchi water reservoir. Full and beautiful.
Dr. Galen Stahle’s Anxiety Disorders Conference
Mano a Mano volunteer Dr. Galen Stahle provided a free conference on diagnosing and managing anxiety disorders yesterday at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Segundo’s note: Galen’s presentation. There were actually many people outside the room; unfortunately we ran out of space.
