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Inspiration
Acu. | Issue #34 | Spring 2022
A glimpse of the waiting area at the Chaparda clinic
Recent graduate Catherine Watkins and practitio ners Barbara Robinson and Emma Vaughan at the end of a 26-mile fundraiser!
Catch up with World Medicine An established force encouraging new growth through volunteering
Emma Vaughan World Medicine Trustee & Member: Argyll & Bute acupuncturists and World Medicine’s tag translators head to line ‘Acupuncture the rural community in Action’ has been of Chaparda to set up greatly tested in a three-week clinic the past two years. delivering acupuncture The impact of the six days a week in pandemic which the local hospital. has devastated The clinic is now well populations across established, attended the globe and left by hundreds, and millions grieving loved is provided free of ones has of course charge. Over the had more localised past few years we effects, leaving us have actively sought living with challenging graduates from restrictions imposed acupuncture colleges on our daily lives. It to volunteer with us was a frustrating time a in our clinic in Chapard Sally Connelly working there and this has for acupuncturists, as proved to be hugely despite us having the successful. There are few environments most incredible tools for someone in the early stages of to positively support and nurture our clinical practice that can provide the patients’ health we found ourselves, breadth and scope of experience like like many other professions, thwarted the Chaparda Clinic can. by the extensive lockdowns. We recognise how challenging it At World Medicine it meant we were must be for those acupuncturists that unable to deliver any of our regular have emerged from college during the projects and twice now we have had pandemic and have not yet had the to cancel our annual working trip to opportunity to properly launch. We Gujurat in India. Many acupuncturists encourage them especially to think will be familiar with our work there, about volunteering with acupuncture and indeed many have volunteered projects at some point in their career to with us over the years. It’s an incredible expand their own experiences, whilst project which sees a small group of
Another W M challenge – fundraiser: the threeloc 49 miles in under 24 ho h urs
offering something that is often out of reach for many in our society. Despite our overseas project being stifled, last August saw the birth of our new project, in Wapping, London, treating refugees who live in the community and are supported by the Jesuit Refugee Service, an agency that has been established there for many years. Our clinic runs on Wednesday afternoons and is staffed by an amazing group of acupuncture volunteers who work in rotation on a regular basis in order to spread the commitment. This work is incredibly important as it is positively impacting on the lives of a group in our society that are consistently affected by anxiety, low mood and insomnia – all trademarks of stress and trauma. World Medicine began 18 years ago when acupuncturist Danny Maxwell saw a need to respond to trauma caused by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in South Asia. Originally called Acupuncture Sans Frontières, our Acupuncture in Action tag line has been well represented through projects in Sri Lanka, India, Gaza, Hebron and Nablus, as well as projects here in the UK. Almost two decades later we continue to thrive and more importantly be expansive in vision. Many acupuncturists have volunteered over the years, often giving up a few weeks of their own income or precious holiday time to support our projects. Their altruism and enthusiasm never fail to humble us and we do not take lightly the commitment they bring to our projects. We are also well supported by a really skilled team of interpreters who we need to make many of our projects possible. Launching a voluntary project can be daunting but there are so many areas in our communities where health is fragile and the need born out of poverty, trauma etc is very real. There likely isn’t a city or town in the UK where homelessness, addiction, social disadvantage, isolation of marginalised groups are not issues in need of support. It is with this in mind that World Medicine is proud to launch our Acupuncture in Action grants.
