Mano a Mano: Building Bridges of Support Between Bolivia and the U.S.

Dear Readers,

Here at the Democracy Center we get accused from time to time of being "anti-American," of only spotlighting what the U.S. government or U.S. corporations do that is damaging to people in Bolivia – the War on Drugs, the greed of Bechtel, the environmental destruction wrought by Enron.

But to be clear, there are plenty of things that people from the U.S., joining with people in Bolivia, are doing that are praiseworthy and more. In this Blog post Kris Hannigan-Luther takes a look at one such project, the Minnesota and Cochabamba-based Mano a Mano International. We have a high regard for their work and are happy to draw our readers' attention to it here.

Jim Shultz


Mano a Mano: Building Bridges of Support Between Bolivia and the U.S.

Written by Kris Hannigan-Luther with contributions by Patricia Ohmans

Last month Mano a Mano International celebrated the construction of its 100th medical clinic in Bolivia.

Founded by brothers, Jose and Segundo Velasquez, and Segundo's wife, Joan Velasquez, Mano a Mano has its roots in the medical donations Segundo Velasquez brought yearly to Bolivia, as he coordinated with his brother, Jose, a medical doctor. Together, Jose, Segundo and Joan had extensive contacts in both Minnesota and in Bolivia. Over time, more and more people became involved as volunteers in these efforts to bring donated medical supplies to Bolivian communities.

In 1994 Mano a Mano was incorporated as a non-profit organization and began developing an ambitious plan to create partnerships with Bolivian communities according to their mission: to create partnerships with impoverished Bolivian communities to improve health and increase economic well-being.

Jose Velazquez lives in Cochabamba, and directs the day-to-day operations of Mano a Mano's clinic- and school-building with incredible energy, efficiency and passion. Mano a Mano's Bolivian staff members visit every village site where a clinic will be built, usually multiple times; negotiate the agreements with village leaders and the Bolivian ministry of health; monitor and supervise construction; and recruit young Bolivian doctors and nurses to live in the clinics.

While other NGOs have created problematic relations with local governments, Mano a Mano has developed and implemented a community-oriented, low-cost approach involving extensive discussions with elected community leaders, local county officials and the Bolivian Health Ministry. Community volunteers contribute all of the unskilled labor and locally available building materials. Although Mano a Mano continues to train clinic providers once the clinics are built, the most remarkable fact about Mano a Mano's clinics is that ALL of them are still up and running, and that 95% of them operate exclusively with Bolivian government funding (no US dollars go for providers' salaries).

According to Mano a Mano, since 1997, when the program began, these clinics have had nearly 1,800,000 patient visits, vaccinated 300,000 mothers and children, and delivered 9,000 infants. All mothers and all but 42 babies survived, an unparalleled survival rate in areas in which, statistically, 45 mothers and 720 children would have died (infant mortality reaches 8% and .5% of mothers die during or shortly following childbirth).

Building on the partnerships developed during clinic construction, Mano a Mano - Bolivia staff work with community members to develop solutions to sanitation problems. Community water projects provide the rural community with a clean and consistent water supply. According the Mano a Mano International’s newsletter, more than 30 sanitation projects have been completed.

In addition to constructing clinics and implementing community water projects, Mano a Mano also focuses on education in rural communities. In order to assist rural communities in attracting qualified teachers, Mano a Mano has constructed schools and desirable housing for teachers. To date, more than 33 education and teacher housing projects have been completed.

Mano a Mano has an impressive group of volunteers, as shown through their statistics. In the United States, over 92,000 volunteer hours have been contributed. Cochabamba citizens have contributed over 182,000 volunteer hours and Bolivian community members have put in over 343,000 volunteer hours.

Mano a Mano’s 100th clinic was opened last month in Mizque, a rural city of about 30,000, located 180 km. from Cochabamba. A grand celebration took place, with international and Bolivian volunteers participating alongside Bolivian staff, community members and local governmental officials. Following the festivities in Mizque, another party took place at the Cochabamba offices/warehouse with speeches, music, information and photos on each of the 100 clinics, dance performances and food. Mano a Mano has much to celebrate indeed.

We would like to congratulate Mano a Mano on constructing 100 clinics and on your numerous other accomplishments. Here’s to the next 100 clinics!