Flood Relief

UPDATE – Mano a Mano’s Flood Relief Efforts through June 2014

Flooding in Bolivia

The first two months of 2014 have seen heavy rains and severe flooding in Bolivia. 59,800 families have been affected, 59 people have died, and more than 100,000 cattle have died, and it is likely that the flooding will continue for the foreseeable future (at least through March).

How Mano a Mano is Responding

Donate to Support Mano a Mano Flood Relief

Mano a Mano is doing what it can in response to emergency flooding; if you would like to support our efforts you can make a donation below, or visit our project page on Razoo.

Raise money online for Help Mano a Mano Provide Emergency Flood Relief in Bolivia

How Mano a Mano is Responding to the Flooding in Bolivia

Earlier this month Mano a Mano staff from all 5 of our counterpart organizations met via conference call to discuss what we could do.

Each of our Bolivian counterparts has been collecting food, medicine, clothing, and other supplies donated from friends, families, their churches, and anywhere else they can ask. Mano a Mano Apoyo Aereo and Mano a Mano Internacional are preparing for their distribution.

People are not able to cook; we have been told that many of these people are living on rooftops or on tree tops to stay alive, and there have been reportings of people drowning in the area.

Mano a Mano Bolivia is hiring a couple of doctors to set up a temporary health clinic near the runway of San Luis. They will be able to serve many of the surrounding communities from this runway. Mano a Mano Apoyo Aereo will be providing the transport for these doctors and other volunteers.

Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo will be loaning a boat motor so the food can be distributed by canoe to the different villages; village leaders will also be encouraged to come to the distribution point to pick up the packages – some have canoes.

Mano a Mano International Partners (US office) is responding with some funds to help support this work. Even though in Bolivia we are asking for donations of food and other supplies, we will need to purchase much of the food, especially the easily consumable items. Also, we will need to purchase medicines and medical supplies that we do not have on hand, as well as fuel for the canoes and to cover the additional flights for our airplanes and food for all of our volunteers who are committed to helping during this natural disaster.

The Challenges

ISOLATION OF RURAL COMMUNITIES

Mano a Mano focuses on working with isolated rural communities that are often ignored, due to their small size, transportation challenges, and difficult working conditions; this is true under the best circumstances but is exponentially worse in times of emergency. There are simply not the resources or infrastructure for the government or other organizations to reach many of the smallest communities.

This is why it is so important for Mano a Mano to provide whatever support it can; outside of a few local churches or dedicated volunteers, we may be the only assistance available to the communities that we work with.

LACK OF FUNDING FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Mano a Mano is NOT an emergency response organization – we typically focus on community development projects. We are always on an extremely tight budget and do not have unrestricted funds available for this type of emergency response. But we do have the skilled Bolivian staff, aviation program, and commitment to work directly with these communities that others may lack, and we feel strongly that we need to do what we can during the most difficult times.

How You Can Help

Our biggest limitation is always funding; your donation during this emergency will help Mano a Mano respond to the most isolated and hardest-hit communities – distributing emergency food and supplies, providing emergency health care, and helping communities get back on their feet over the months to come. Your support also adds much-needed funds that allow Mano a Mano to provide emergency response now while not taking away from our normal community development projects, which will be in even greater demand as the impact of this flooding continues to be felt months and years from now.

Please visit our blog to learn more about our emergency response and for updates on our activities.

Thanks for your support!