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Catch up with World Medicine

Recent graduate Catherine Watkins and practitioners Barbara Robinson and Emma Vaughan at the end of a 26-mile fundraiser!

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An established force encouraging new growth through volunteering

Emma Vaughan

World Medicine Trustee & Member: Argyll & Bute

World Medicine’s tag line ‘Acupuncture in Action’ has been greatly tested in the past two years. The impact of the pandemic which has devastated populations across the globe and left millions grieving loved ones has of course had more localised effects, leaving us living with challenging restrictions imposed on our daily lives. It was a frustrating time for acupuncturists, as despite us having the most incredible tools to positively support and nurture our patients’ health we found ourselves, like many other professions, thwarted by the extensive lockdowns.

At World Medicine it meant we were unable to deliver any of our regular projects and twice now we have had to cancel our annual working trip to Gujurat in India. Many acupuncturists will be familiar with our work there, and indeed many have volunteered with us over the years. It’s an incredible project which sees a small group of acupuncturists and translators head to the rural community of Chaparda to set up a three-week clinic delivering acupuncture six days a week in the local hospital. The clinic is now well established, attended by hundreds, and is provided free of charge. Over the past few years we have actively sought graduates from acupuncture colleges to volunteer with us there and this has proved to be hugely successful. There are few environments for someone in the early stages of clinical practice that can provide the breadth and scope of experience like the Chaparda Clinic can.

Sally Connelly working in our clinic in Chaparda

We recognise how challenging it must be for those acupuncturists that have emerged from college during the pandemic and have not yet had the opportunity to properly launch. We encourage them especially to think about volunteering with acupuncture projects at some point in their career to expand their own experiences, whilst 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 Sally Connelly working in our clinic in Chaparda 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.

A glimpse of the waiting area at the Chaparda clinic

Members of the 2020 team who volunteered in Chaparda

We would like to invite either individuals or groups of acupuncturists to apply for one of these project grants. Each grant is worth up to £2,000 and is available to support EITHER the implementation of a new project OR to support the maintenance/expansion of an established project which offers acupuncture to areas of the community with a specific need.

In line with our ethos, the project must be non-profit making and demonstrate a clear purpose in improving the health of people in the local community who are compromised by poverty, social disadvantage, conflict or trauma.

Emma Vaughan working in the Chaparda clinic

A great example of such a project was the Grenfell project, where a group of acupuncturists responded to the trauma experienced by the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 by setting up an acupuncture clinic to help treat PTSD. They delivered many treatments over the subsequent years and their innovation and motivation was a huge inspiration to many of their fellow colleagues.

At World Medicine it is very much our hope that there are other acupuncturists throughout the UK who might be thinking about starting similar projects in their communities and who perhaps need a little support to take the leap. If so, we would love to hear from you!

To enquire about an Acupuncture in Action grant please send us an email with a BRIEF outline of your project idea. We will then invite you to submit a formal application for a grant in line with the terms and conditions 〉 info@worldmedicine.org.uk

Practitioner and long-term volunteer for World Medicine, Jude Blair

Finally, please do visit our website to get a full flavour of our work including both past and present projects. You’ll also find details there of other ways to support the work of World Medicine, such as our ongoing fundraising. If you enjoy walking, for instance, you might just be tempted to join us in a fundraising Kiltwalk! All support is greatly welcomed 〉 worldmedicine.org.uk

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