Mano a Mano's Twin Cities volunteers seek donations of surplus medical supplies and

equipment from health care providers and suppliers in Minnesota.

The supplies are new items, usually in their original packaging, that become surplus for varied reasons: they may have been misrouted, overstocked, replaced by supplies from new vendors or delivered in damaged boxes. Volunteers pick up these items, then pack and prepare them for shipment. Equipment is lightly used and serviceable.

Mano a Mano's goal is to ship 150,000-200,000 pounds annually to Bolivia. Nearly all of these life-saving items would have been discarded into Minnesota landfills if Mano a Mano had not collected them.

In 1995, Mano a Mano had the good fortune to be approved by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Denton Program for no-cost, space-available transportation of its cargo via military transport during routine Reservist training missions. The Denton Program and related USAID humanitarian transport programs have shipped the vast majority of Mano a Mano’s cargo free of charge.

Supplies and equipment are distributed from Mano a Mano's warehouse in Cochabamba, Bolivia to our network of health care clinics as well as to other organizations in Bolivia that provide healthcare to impoverished Bolivians. Items such as wheelchairs and crutches are often donated to individuals.