Our Mission: Creating Partnerships With Impoverished Bolivian Communities that Improve Health and Increase Economic Well-Being.

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Mano a Mano Blog

Building a School in San Pedro, Bolivia

August 27, 2010 10:25

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Learning Firsthand about the Bolivian Healthcare System

August 24, 2010 11:44

 

Brian Steber is a doctor from the US who recently arrived in Bolivia to volunteer with Mano a Mano in Cochabamba. He sent the following note about his first month: 

I just wanted to let the Mano a Mano USA staff know about my recent experiences with a torn Achilles tendon and how much the Mano a Mano Bolivia staff has helped me.

I ruptured my Right Achilles playing basketball in CA one week prior to coming to Bolivia but since I was still able to walk (sort of), I went into a state of surgical denial, hoping that it would somehow heal well enough to avoid surgery. After 3 weeks of hobbling around Cochabamba I showed Dr. Sergio Zegarra (Mano a Mano’s Medical Director in Bolivia) the divot in my Achilles and he immediately called his friend and fellow Mano a Mano volunteer Dr "Willy" Lara who is a local Orthopedic surgeon. He determined that I needed surgery which I underwent in a Cochabamban hospital this past Tuesday. Dr. Jose Velasquez (Executive Director of Mano a Mano Bolivia) drove me around last Saturday for my blood tests and Ultrasound and took me back to pick up the results.

The entire staff of MMB has been incredibly helpful to this Gringo doctor who came down to try to help out a bit but also learn more about the Bolivian healthcare system; seeing it this closely wasn't what I had envisioned however! The office loaned me the crutches I'm using as well as an immobilizer I used preoperatively. They sent me flowers and then took me home after my 2 nights in the hospital. Dr. Velasquez checks in on me several times a day. I am incredibly grateful for all the support I have received from this great group of people.

I have a long rehab road ahead of me and have decided to return to CA at least until I am out of the cast and ambulating without crutches. I hope to be back just prior to the Oct. Continuing Ed conference with Regions Hospital.

Sincerely,

Brian Steber

Tags Bolivia, Health, Travel | 0 Comments

Mano a Mano Air partnering with SAR

August 09, 2010 14:50

 As part of our aviation program, Mano a Mano partners with other non-profits in Bolivia who have a need for an airplane, which can mean anything from emergency food drops to practicing parachuting from a plane. SAR Bolivia recently rented one of the Mano a Mano planes to do just that (Watch a video of SAR jumping from the Mano a Mano plane).

   

SAR Bolivia at the Mano a Mano hangar in Cochabamba

SAR is a volunteer organization in Bolivia that assists in all kinds of search and rescue operations. Over the years Mano a Mano has assisted them by donating firefighting supplies and equipment collected by volunteers in the US and through our aviation program.

  

Responding to a forest fire in department of Cochabamba

Tags Air,, and, Bolivia, rescue,, Search | 0 Comments

Emergency Flights to Oromomo

June 23, 2010 11:10

Recently Mano a Mano Apoyo Aereo has been doing a lot of emergency flights to Oromomo, a small community in the jungles of Bolivia.

    

Oromomo community members gathering as Mano a Mano plane lands

Many of our recent flights have been to airlift patients with leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease spread by the bite of a sandfly (for more info on the disease check out the WHO website). 

Patient with skin lesion caused by leishmaniasis

Skin lesion on leg of Oromomo child caused by leishmaniasis

 

As we come across this disease more and more frequently, we are looking into ways to help combat its spread. In addition to providing emergency airlifts to city hospitals for serious cases, Mano a Mano is developing a lecture to provide more information about leishmaniasis to the villagers as well as distributing screen tents to help combat this disease and malaria (please contact us if you are interested in donating tents).

Click here for more photos of recent flights to Oromomo.

Tags Air,, Emergency, Flight,, Tropics | 0 Comments

Caterpillar Challenge Grant

June 16, 2010 14:12

The Caterpillar Foundation has given Mano a Mano a challenge grant - they will match any donations made by businesses (not individuals) through December 31, 2010 up to $225,000! 

Help us take advantage of this tremendous opportunity, whether through workplace giving, having Mano a Mano meet with your company, or just spreading the word. 

Thanks Caterpillar Foundation!

Tags corporate, donation, partnership, road | 0 Comments

Pictures and Video from Trip to Bolivia

June 16, 2010 13:59

Right now there are a group of avid mountain climbers who traveled to Bolivia to both climb mountains and to start the process of raising funds for a clinic in Chunavi, Bolivia. They have spent the past few days with Mano a Mano, visiting some of our projects and attending the dedication ceremony of our 3rd agricultural water reservoir in Choquechampi, Bolivia. 

They have been taking a ton of great photos and video during their trip; here are links to a few of their albums:

Tags Bolivia, Travel | 0 Comments