February 2021

Yes, we are walking again.  Our eagle-eyed observers have commented that most of our fundraising involves walking, and there is a reason for this: its accessible to so many people.  The essence being that it doesn’t have to be an arduous marathon slog over swampy terrain in rubbish weather – all you have to do is step outside your door and put one foot in front of the other.  How easy is that?

Of course, you might want to check the weather forecast and put on some sturdy shoes – but its all about getting out into the fresh air.  Maybe your luck will be in and you glimpse a bit of early Spring sunshine, robins scrapping in flower beds, sparrows twittering in hedgerows.  Snowdrops are out there nodding their heads waiting for the first bees to venture out of their hives ……………..  and we too should venture out, breathe deeply, sun on face – and take the first step of many.

I’m fed up with talking about lockdown, the challenges and restrictions; you know them all as well as me, so I’m not going to. I am going to tell you about a brilliant challenge being created by WM that is accessible to everyone!  It’s a virtual journey from our HQ in York to the Jay Ambe hospital in Chaparda, Gujarat, where we run our annual acupuncture clinic. That’s almost 6000 miles!  Before you say “I couldn’t possibly walk that far” – well, of course you couldn’t – by yourself: but this is all about contributing to a team effort, so however many, or few, steps you take could all add up to getting to India in time for the next clinic in January 2022.

Your personal goals have a part to play here – its about getting out for a walk regularly, making it a habit and reaping the rewards of better health, having a (distanced) chat to neighbours and feeling your mood rise.

So, watch this space – details coming soon and perhaps you could raise some small amount to help our fundraising.  All money raised will be used to support World Medicine projects, and not exclusively Chaparda.

I hope you will feel inspired to join us, its going to be amazing!  Let’s do this!

Hello everyone!

Although we have been very quiet over recent months, much has been going on behind the scenes as it were! Firstly, we hope that all our friends at World Medicine are safe and well. 2020 was a very difficult year and so far 2021 continues to be challenging. We were unable to continue any of our projects due to COVID restrictions and so both the work at Grenfell and Chaparda were put on hold. Many members of our previous Chaparda team keenly felt the loss of being in India this year and so we were delighted that Barbara has managed to maintain regular contact with Babubhai at the hospital and have been reassured that the pandemic has not overwhelmed the community there. We intend to return in 2022 but will be cautiously planning for a few months to come before we make a final decision. We also have another exciting London based project in the pipeline which will be announced in due course.

This brings me onto FUNDRAISING! On Easter Day we are going to launch our CHAPARDA challenge fundraiser. Our intention is to walk, swim or cycle the entire length of the journey from our HQ in York to the Jay Ambe hospital in Chaparda. We aim to complete the challenge virtually, logging our journey onto an online platform which will help us map the journey ! Please don’t be put off if you think this sounds complex. Barbara, Dave, Jude and Emma walked a virtual West Highland way last week to road test the system with our IT support Chris supporting us ( literally) every step of the way. It is very straightforward! We will be looking for folk to sign up to our teams at a cost of £12 per person. This will cover everyone’s admin and registration cost etc. We will then link you to a fundraising platform in the hope that your friends and family might donate a little money to spur you on to help us complete our truly epic journey! More detailed information will follow but in the meantime if you or anyone you know are interested in taking part please contact emma@ world medicine.com and I will add you on to our fundraising what’s app group for easy access to information and support. All money raised will be used to support all World Medicine projects and not exclusively Chaparda.

We hope you feel inspired to join us, it’s going to be amazing.. !!!!

Let’s make 2021 a fabulous year of getting fit, being outside as much as possible and RAISING money for World Medicine!!