Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
In 2016, Mano a Mano: shipped 85,579 pounds of donated medical supplies from Minnesota to Bolivia and distributed them to people in need; built 110 greenhouses; provided agricultural training to 2,900 Bolivian farmers; built 5 new health clinics and 2 new schools; provided 307 people with emergency flights and flew volunteer medical staff to 49 weekend health clinics through our aviation program; built 1 large-scale water reservoir, 24 surface wells, and 105 water ponds; and provided support to Mano a Mano's 300+ previously completed infrastructure projects throughout Bolivia.
Current Goals
Mano a Mano is composed of 5 counterpart organizations, each with distinct goals & budgets. Programmatic goals are dictated by fund availability, which are discussed and agreed upon for each organization by the Board at the beginning of the year. The goal for each program is to improve as an organization; maintain their current projects & services; and expand projects & services as funding allows.
Community or Constituency Served
Mano a Mano partners primarily with rural Bolivian communities in need. Most of these communities are small, isolated, subsistence farming communities where average family size is 6 and average income is around $200-$300 annually.
Geographic Area Served
Mano a Mano's surplus program is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, where volunteers collect and sort donated supplies for shipment to Bolivia. We have 4 counterpart organizations that are based in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Most of our infrastructure projects are built in the Bolivian Altiplano in small communities; most communities are between 8,000 and 14,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. Our aviation program is primarily focused in the Amazon region of Bolivia, in the department of Beni.
