Blog – World Medicine

FUNDRAISING NADA TRAINING WEEKENDS, SUMMER, 2023

Training in the NADA protocol seems to be increasing in popularity, year on year. Originally developed in the 1970s as a way of supporting other treatments for drug and alcohol withdrawal and rehabilitation, there is a growing body of evidence to support the use of the NADA protocol. It is now used for its therapeutic benefits in many settings – including with people who have been traumatised by war or natural or man-made disasters; people experiencing side-effects from treatment for cancer; people with a range of mental health issues and much more.

The NADA protocol works by stimulating five points on the outer ear with the insertion of very fine needles, or the application of ear seeds, beads or tiny magnets. It can help with reducing some pain, lower the “fight or flight” response to stress and increase restfulness and relaxation. Taking just a few days to learn, this simple, but powerful technique can make a huge difference to helping a person’s healing journey.

In the Summer of 2023 two weekends were dedicated to groups of trainees, keen to immerse themselves in learning the amazing NADA protocol. All the trainees donated their training fee to World Medicine. The first weekend was held at my home practice in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Five trainees and one person taking ‘refresher’ training shared their experiences, learned new skills and engaged in conversation over a cuppa or the light lunches, in a relaxed environment. Thanks must go to the lovely local (and not-so-local) people who “volunteered” their ears for the trainees to get additional practice.

In early July, two dozen new trainees arrived at the Northern College of Acupuncture, in York, to begin their three intensive days of training. Everyone who came on the course and the ‘refresher’ course (a day earlier), worked hard to gain new knowledge and skills and practice the needling technique. It was wonderful to witness the atmosphere of open-heartedness and generosity and the desire to learn a skill which has the potential to benefit people worldwide, regardless of who they are or where they live. We had some superb assistants – Liz, Fiona and Fiona, Sarah, Sandra, Saoirse (who is one of the new graduates going on the 2024 camp in Chaparda), Jacqueline, Michele and Heather – who all went the extra mile to support the trainees. Deepest gratitude to them and also to Janet, who is now a NADA trainer – it couldn’t have happened without each and every one of you!

jude x

Judith Blair has worked with World Medicine for many years, in Chaparda, India and elsewhere, and is a generous friend and fundraiser! Thank you for everything, Jude!

NADA Training Weekends, Summer 2023 Read More »

Apr 18 2023

What Chaparda Meant For Me

Chaparda, Volunteering

In our video link below volunteer Sally Oliver describes what it meant to her to be part of the team that ran the 2023 Chaparda Clinic in India. If it inspires you, why not consider volunteering yourself?

World Medicine is now open for applications from acupuncture students studying with accredited colleges and who graduate this year who are interested in joining us in India January 2024. Click here for more information and an application form.

Click the image below to view our video of Sally reflecting on her time in Chaparda

What Chaparda Meant For Me Read More »

Mar 10 2023

Reflection from the Women’s Clinic

Chaparda, Fundraising, Training, Volunteering

The second of our blogs from Chaparda 2023 volunteers. this one is written by Teresa Dawkes

I first heard of World Medicine during a lecture from Phil Montgomery in my first year as a student at the NCA and I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved. I had previous experience of volunteering in Uganda in as a radiographer and knew what an enriching experience it could be both personally and professionally.

In 2021, in my 3^rd year, I applied for the graduate place and can honestly say I was absolutely thrilled to hear I had been chosen to go. Unfortunately the planned trip in 2022 had to be postponed for a year due to Covid but in January 2023 we left the cold and dark of a UK winter behind and arrived somewhat tired and frazzled in Rajkot. After an overnight stay we were off in the morning to Chaparda. The journey there was full of chatter and getting to know other members of the team.

Now, I think my idea of an Ashram may have come from reading about the Beatles’ visit to one in the 1960s – I expected a very peaceful place with people meditating and practising yoga on the lawns. I was quickly disillusioned of that realising that it was a community of many people and could at times be very noisy but in general it was peaceful in the evenings, very safe and friendly.

I would be lying to say I had not had many doubts about my ability and experience to be able to treat patients, over the time from being accepted on the trip to actually arriving in Chaparda. Barbara, Emma, Ruth and Fleur were all so encouraging and gave me the confidence to think I could actually do this! So on my first day in the Women’s Clinic I had the confidence to just crack on knowing that there was always someone more experienced on hand if I needed advice. I quickly realised that the number of questions we would normally ask patients was not going to work and trimmed down the questions to gain maximum information in a short space of time.

I was really impressed by how slickly the clinics run, with the admin staff controlling the flow of patients outside the clinic and the translators bringing through the patients as soon as there was a bed free and helping the acupuncturists determine what the patient’s problem was. It all created a very calm environment to treat in.

Before I went to Chaparda I struggled to believe how one person could deliver 20-30 treatments a day but quickly realised that it was possible, with the more experienced acupuncturists exceeding this. I will admit to it being very tiring at times but the sense of achievement and camaraderie of the team helped immeasurably.

I treated many patients but 2 stand out , one was a woman who made bricks from 3am – 9pm each day. Her hands were so sore and painful and I really hope that she found relief not only from the acupuncture but from the love and attention she received from Steph who gently massaged her hands. The second patient was a young woman from the school for the blind in the ashram. She arrived in the clinic absolutely terrified about needles and visibly recoiling from any touch. After a lot of gentle persuasion and reassurance she allowed me to do some acupressure and the satisfaction of seeing her visibly relax was amazing. On subsequent visits she started to laugh and even sang for us which reduced Batul, the translator and myself to tears as it was so beautiful.

The amazing experience of working with World Medicine at Chaparda will stay with me forever. I can appreciate it may not be for everyone but if you are thinking of applying be assured that you will be surrounded by a brilliant team who are so supportive of each other. Thank you to the acupuncturists, translators, therapists, admin and hospital staff who made it such a memorable trip and reminding me of why I re- trained to be an acupuncturist.

Reflection from the Women’s Clinic Read More »

Mar 10 2023

Reflection from the Men’s Clinic

Chaparda, Fundraising, Translation, Volunteering

The first of our blogs from Chaparda 2023 volunteers. this one is written by Fleur Clackson-Foney

I heard about the charity World Medicine when I was doing my Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture training. A friend, who was two years above me in college, applied for, and went with, them to India. I was impressed with their project and their work. I determined to contact them when I graduated.

Fast forward two years and I did graduate… in the midst of the Covid pandemic. When things opened up a bit, I went to Wapping where World Medicine take over a room once a week and offer acupuncture for refugees.

There I met Barbara and Najma, two of the Trustees. I did a bit of acupuncture with them that afternoon and mentioned, “Should you ever return to India I’d love to interview for the team.” (They hadn’t been able to travel to India during the pandemic.)

In July 2022 I got an email from Barbara asking if I’d still like to interview to go to India. Yes, I’d like! And so interview I did. I was subsequently offered a place on the January 2023 Acupuncture Camp to Chaparda, Gujarat.

Flights were booked pretty sharpish and then in the ensuing months, there were various updates on things such as what visa we needed, what insurance, a list of general things to take, how many needles to take, and so on.

We had a ‘hello’ zoom meeting with the team (six acupuncturists and eight translators) and then an in-person all-dayer in London around October. On that day we all met face-to-face for the first time and Barbara went through everything in detail.

When you travel to India with World Medicine your accommodation and food are taken care of through the charity. World Medicine will also reimburse you for your acupuncture needles, moxa and another. What you need to do is raise your own travel costs. I created a Crowdfund page, with information about the Charity, the Project, and what I’d be doing. Friends and family kindly came together and pledged enough money to cover not only my travel costs, but my acupuncture kit costs too. So rather than charge that cost back to World Medicine I was able to offer this expense in kind to the Charity as a donation.

Crowdfunding also became a platform to share the details of the charity and the experience. I wrote a weekly email to the 36 people who donated, describing where we were, the work we were doing, and the friendships we were making.

Christmas came and was a whirlwind. And then, on Jan 5th, I met up with eight of the team (some had traveled at different times) at Heathrow Airport. We left the UK on Thursday afternoon. We arrived at the ashram that would be home for three weeks, on Saturday lunchtime. That sounds arduous, and yes it was two days…But there was a whistle-stop tour around Delhi during our stopover and a night in a hotel in between.

A couple of us acupuncturists were quite newly qualified and were feeling some trepidation. The clinic, we were told, could get very busy. To put that into context, that means you can find yourself, in a multi-bed setting, treating circa 22 patients a day! On Sunday we went to the local hospital, where the clinic is based (we had two small wards to work from – one for men and one for women) and set up. It helped greatly to calm the nerves, seeing the location and getting all our gear ready.

On Monday the clinic began. It was sort of quiet at the start. I think for the Trustees it’s always slightly guesswork on how efficiently the clinic has been advertised to the local villages. There was no need to worry by the afternoon we were busy and the Tuesday and Wednesday we were very busy!

Obviously, we were working in a very different way from at home. We were not taking a detailed case history. We were asking a few pertinent questions about the main complaint. We learned quickly that questions should be simple and straightforward, both for the translator to understand, what they were asking the patient and for the patient to be able to clearly answer.

I worked in the men’s clinic with Barbara, two male translators, and two male assistants (nurses) from the hospital. I worked mostly with the same translator for three weeks. By day two or three we’d started to get into our rhythm of working together. He’d know when to bring in the next patient, whilst I was still treating the last, and he could ask the basic preliminary questions.

The two assistants were great, doing copious amounts of moxa and some massage too. Barbara and I worked each of us on one side of the ward treating between the five beds we each had.

Although the clinic is busy, it is paced very kindly for us. We work 8.30 to 12.30, walk ten minutes back to the ashram for lunch and return for a 2pm start until 5.30 pm. It never felt too much and, if for a moment it felt a lot, I’d look at the farmer who’d been toiling all his life and think, “Fleur you think this is too much? Really? Come on?

The patients were mainly farmers and their families, diamond polishers, or OAPs. They were for the most part poor or very poor. We treated a lot of knee and shoulders and local pain but there were digestive issues, headaches, and even spirit-related issues too. The results we got, especially given the limited intake info were pretty amazing. Much better than those I’d have got for the same complaints in the UK I reckon… why that is I don’t know.

It is humbling and gratifying work. I was moved by the patients and their dignity. This made it effortless to approach each man with the utmost respect.

In addition to the work, Saturday afternoons and Sundays are free. There’s generally a trip to a local town arranged for a bit of shopping, or to go see a temple. And Sunday (of which you only have two once you’ve started) is a good day to chill and rest and make sure you’re ready for Monday.

Our team was great, warm, friendly, funny, encouraging, and capable. I have made friends with whom I’ll stay in touch. The team makes it fun – which is needed after a full-on day. You may have heard stories that break the heart but there’s often a sweet moment after work when we stop at the café outside the hospital gates and have a chai or coconut water. There’s no hierarchy or judgment from the longer-standing acupuncturist about what points you did/didn’t use or why. They are solely helpful and encouraging.

Life is put into a new perspective by doing this work. I felt pretty lucky and pretty grateful. Also, there’s a kind of ease in not having to think about what you are doing tomorrow. You are being fed three times a day and you have a place to sleep. Your job is to keep up your energy even and do the work and create as much value and benefit as you can with your skills. That feels pretty special.

It was an incredible opportunity and I feel fortunate I got to work with World Medicine on this project. It’s true, I was knackered at the end, but in no way broken, in fact, quite the reverse.

Reflection from the Men’s Clinic Read More »

Jan 2 2023

Chaparda 2023

Chaparda, Volunteering

By Emma Vaughan

This week sees a team of practitioners, clinic assistants and translators heading to Chaparda for our first visit since 2020. It is with much anticipation that we will make our way from our homes across the UK and meet up with the whole team on Saturday 7th of January. We have had much time to prepare for this trip and we are all ready to meet the challenge of the 3 weeks of work that lie ahead for us. We never know quite what we will find, who we will meet or how things will unfold but we go in good faith that we will be met with plenty of patients who are eager for our help and ready to embrace the wonderful benefits that acupuncture and its adjunct therapies can bring.

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This year we will be making a concerted effort to blog our experiences in order to showcase the breadth and richness of our work in Chaparda. Look out for these blogs on World Medicine Instagram and here on our website.

Finally, every trip we make to India always serves as a reminder of how much support we have from so many people for both our projects abroad and at home in the UK. Some of that support comes in the way of admin and practicalities ( special shout out to Chris, Sally, Alison and Amir) and some of it comes in fundraising and grants. Recently we had an amazing donation of £5000 from The Clarkson Foundation for which we are enormously grateful. Sarah Clifford, one of our dedicated volunteers at Wapping was instrumental in facilitating this grant. Thank you Sarah, this has been invaluable – you are a wonderful friend to World Medicine.

We also want to say a special thank you to two exceptional fundraisers this year who have supported the work of World Medicine so wonderfully – Jude Blair and Amy Moore. Jude has put a huge amount of effort into delivering training courses to facilitate NADA practitioners in volunteering for World Medicine projects. This takes a lot of time and planning and has resulted in not only an increase in volunteers but very generous donations to World Medicine. Thank you Jude!

Amy, as some of you will know is part of our 2023 team. Sadly, Amy is unable to travel with us this time and we are sending her much love. Despite this Amy has raised a huge amount of money for World Medicine and has been a great advocate for our work through her commitment to volunteering in the UK in 2022, in Wapping. A superstar!!

And so back to packing, fretting over baggage allowance, worrying if I have packed enough teabags, who will win THE game…..

Emma is a World Medicine Trustee

Chaparda 2023 Read More »

Dec 14 2022

NADA Weekend, July 2022

NADA, Training, Volunteering

The NADA protocol was originally developed in the 1970s as a way of supporting other treatments for drug and alcohol withdrawal and rehabilitation. Stimulating five points on the outer ear with the insertion of needles, or application of ear seeds, helps to increase the body’s production of endorphins, whilst lowering the response to stress and increasing relaxation. Today, in addition to its use in addiction units, the NADA protocol is used as an adjunctive, supportive therapy in a wide variety of settings, including with people who have been traumatised by war or natural or man-made disasters; people undergoing treatment for cancer; mental health settings and more. It is little wonder that taking the NADA training is becoming increasingly popular with acupuncturists and other complementary therapists.

In July, 2022 another NADA training took place at the Northern College of Acupuncture in York. Trainees and people who were undertaking the ‘refresher’ course all applied themselves with enthusiasm to immerse themselves in learning and gaining new skills or practicing their technique. Everyone was incredibly supportive of the teaching team and each other. I was humbled and impressed by the stories from NADA practitioners of how this simple, but effective protocol had helped as part of the support for people with whom they had come into contact, in their work. Thank you all, for your hard work and diligence – on the hottest weekend of the year! – for making the whole weekend so successful and enjoyable and for your much appreciated donations to World Medicine.

I was also blown away by people’s openhearted kindness and generosity. My special thanks must go to all the assistants – Janet and Teresa, who worked tirelessly for all four days and Kath, Jacqueline, Michele, Hayley, Liz and Sarah who supported the trainees and freely shared their knowledge and skills. The directors of NADA GB have been hugely supportive of this event, so thanks must go to them, too. Once again, there was an anonymous donor who undertook all the printing of the learning materials and whose work and generosity is very much appreciated. Thanks too, must go to Richard Blackwell, Principal of the NCA for kindly allowing us to use space in the College and to the Practitioner Hub team and NCA staff who dealt with all the bookings, endless admin and making sure the rooms were clean and in good order and also for supporting the weekend with providing much needed refreshments. It was the hottest weekend of the year!

Thank you to everyone – it couldn’t have happened without you!

jude x

NADA Weekend, July 2022 Read More »

Apr 25 2022

Setting up a free-to-user clinic? Things to think about

NADA, Refugees, Volunteering

Trustee Barbara Robinson takes us through what will be required to set up a free-to-user clinic, using a World Medicine Acupuncture in Action Grant.

What will your clinic look like? WM’s experience at Grenfell, Wapping and in India has provided us with a few tips and considerations for setting up and managing clinics such as this, which we are happy to share. (Staff at JRS Wapping refer to patients as Refugee Friends or Friends, and we have adopted that.)

Clinic type:
Multibed? Seated? This will depend on space, equipment, daily setting up time, personal inclination and targeted beneficiary group. WM’s experience is that good results can be achieved with seated auricular treatments and is time efficient for stress/trauma/anxiety/insomnia treatments. It is also more suitable for mixed gender groups. Where full body qualified acupuncturists are volunteering they can also offer distal points to great effect.

In our India clinics where 80% of complaints are musculo-skeletal we have access to hospital beds, and this has some benefits – not least it prevents patients wandering around with needles in!
Where space is limited, think carefully before running a mix of seated and couch – we have found that patients directed to seated areas perceive they have been short-changed compared to lying down on the couch, which they think implies a more thorough treatment. Explaining the workings of acupuncture points regardless of physical position becomes difficult when there are translation issues.

Space and equipment:
A large roomy space with plenty of natural light that does not have through traffic is ideal.
Is it accessible for both volunteers and Friends?
Community spaces are often already equipped with chairs which, hopefully, are wipeable. If placed in pairs with a good space around you have a place to perch yourself while working and not be hampered by being close to a wall or other furniture. Good spacing also encourages Friends to enjoy the quiet and get the most from their needle time.

Stacked chairs in the corner of the room take only minutes to set out and equipment is stored in a bag with treatment notes in a locked cupboard in the same room, if possible.
A table is needed to set out equipment during the clinic.
A list of suggested equipment is here

Is the space free to use? This is where costs could mount up – by seeking out ‘hosts’ it is possible to benefit from a committed partner who knows their Friends and provide translation if needed.

You could start by checking out charities in your area with similar target groups (eg British Red Cross); acupuncture or multidiscipline practices able to donate space a regular time each week (perhaps check with colleagues at your BAcC regional group – would also be good for gathering volunteers); social groups with a shared interest in helping your target recipients (Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain)
Volunteers:
To be sustainable, and by that I mean still be operating in a year’s time, a weekly clinic with two practitioners attending will probably need a minimum of 8 volunteers to rotate, even better if you have 10 or even 12. Sounds a lot, and you may think that you will be able to run it by yourself with perhaps another to help you and perhaps you can. But wait – life has a way of intervening – what if that hospital appointment comes round at last and you don’t want to miss it/you wake up with a migraine/covid/a sick child? Having others to call upon is invaluable if you are not going to cancel a clinic.

Planning the rota well in advance is appreciated by volunteers, but it takes thought and prompt action is needed for last minute changes. A whatsapp group for volunteers to quickly contact each other is invaluable, its wonderful for letting the other volunteers know how the clinic went that week, and for the cohesion of the group when they rarely see each other.

The success of your clinic depends on your volunteers. It goes without saying that volunteers should be qualified, insured and DBS checked. Sometimes DBS checking can get forgotten by the most conscientious of acupuncturists so it is useful to be able to offer this to your volunteers. We use an online company – Aaron’s Department – for our DBS processing. Your group will need to have at least 2 nominated admin/checkers set up on their system. It is very simple and you can take advantage of the admin only charge which means for processing volunteers, the cost is as low as £8 per person – this is easily covered by the grant: why not offer this free to your volunteers?

Understand your beneficiary group:
How are you going to let them know you are there? Any advertising, discussions with host/partners should be targeted. Consider your response if other groups outside of your target wish to avail themselves of your service. Is that okay with you – do you say Yes to everyone – or do you say No?
It’s a difficult one ……… What was your original reason for setting up the clinic? A ‘mission statement’ is useful here as it provides a clear pointer in the minds of the volunteers who their beneficiary group are, and that in turn helps with their commitment. Consider also where the financial support has come from – does what you are doing still align with your and your donors’ intentions?

Finances:
WM is offering £2000 for set up costs, usually 50% initially and 50% after 6 months. However, if there are circumstances that require 100% initially then this can be considered. It will be necessary to have a bank account in the name of your group. Recipients of the grant are free to use it as they wish, but we think equipment and volunteers’ travel expenses have highest priority. Having a limit on amount that may be claimed per volunteer, per session, is useful as it facilitates planning.

Reporting:
We feel it is important to be able to assess, after a time, how your clinic is doing. Your gut feeling may be that all is wonderful, which is great, but if you intend to revisit your original sponsor or even try elsewhere for continuation funds, it is useful to be able to demonstrate the success of your clinic. Perhaps after 6 months or so you could also ask your refugee friends for some feedback.

WM use a standardised treatment form which has been modified over the years to hold all the relevant details of patient, data and tx consent box, date, practitioner, category of ailment, treatment, a severity ‘score’ and number of needles used. Without creating an admin burden, we find that these details provide sufficient information to keep track of treatments, improvement rate and equipment usage so that reporting is possible. We are happy to share this with groups who may be interested.

Equipment list:
Most working acupuncturists will have an idea of what they need to operate, but to get you going without too much outlay I would suggest the following. Of course, it will depend on how many Friends you will be treating per session and how complicated your treatments. Regarding needles, based on a keystone treatment of 10 ear needles plus possible addition of 5 (average) body needles, treating 15-20 friends weekly for 3 months you might consider an initial order of the following, but review after a couple of months to check usage.

2000 auricular needles
1000 1” needles
1000 ½” needles

Ear seeds (clear backing)
Cotton wool and/or cotton buds
Sharps bin
Massage oil
Small paper cups for transporting needles to/from patient
Sterilising hand gel/wash
Magnet
Ear probe (optional)
PPE if still using

(If chairs are needed, I find enquiries at local secondary schools, churches or office refit companies result in some no-longer-used furniture either free or for a small donation.)

April 2022

Setting up a free-to-user clinic? Things to think about Read More »

Feb 5 2022

NADA Training, Sedbergh

NADA, Training

In January 2022 World Medicine volunteer Judith Blair ran a NADA training weekend, donating all the proceeds to World Medicine

For some, the last weekend of January can be rather dull – the days are still short and the natural inclination is towards hibernation. Not so for the trainees who braved the elements to make their way to my home practice in the Yorkshire Dales, to undertake the NADA ear acupuncture training! The weekend was ‘immersive’ and trainees undertook three very full days, starting with qigong in the morning and ending (for most) with a meal together in the evening.

I was impressed by all the trainees, who openly and generously shared their own skills and experiences to enrich the weekend’s training. Everyone who took part in the training was hugely supportive of the other participants. The trainees engaged enthusiastically with the learning and together we listened, we learned, we worked and we laughed, too! Sadly, there was little opportunity for going out to walk in the hills, but we all benefitted from their calming presence and from the qigong and meditation sessions shared by two talented trainees.

Our training included time for meditation

Altogether, the donations raised £645 for the work of World Medicine, in ongoing projects in Gujarat and Wapping and to the development of further projects, both at home and abroad. Some trainees have already expressed interest in volunteering for World Medicine and all the participants are actively exploring ways to develop their practice to incorporate the use of the NADA protocol, to the benefit of their patients and clients.

Further NADA trainings are being planned. If you are interested in taking the NADA training for volunteering for World Medicine projects, please get in touch.

NADA Training, Sedbergh Read More »

Jan 14 2022

Goodbye to 2021 and Welcome to 2022

Refugees, Trustees, Volunteering

By Emma Vaughan, Trustee

2021 proved to be another challenging year for almost everyone on the planet. We are still struggling with Covid, conflict and humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Myanmar to name but a few countries, in addition to the threats we, and the planet are facing from environmental damage. It can be overwhelming to consider the position that we are in so it is good to reflect on the great things that 2021 brought too!

handshake-heart-barbed-wire-400x400-1 For us at World Medicine despite the disappointment of not being able to run our annual clinic in Chaparda, 2021 proved to be a very positive year. Our main achievement was the August launch of the Refugee Friends Clinic in Wapping, London. 5 months on and this project is on a very firm footing with a steady flow of both participants and volunteers. We are very much hoping that the model we have used to run the project may be replicated in other parts of the UK in the coming years.

Another achievement we have been very proud of is our Herculean fundraising efforts. So many people have engaged with us this year to help raise money. Earlier in the year we completed a virtual Kiltwalk and raised significant funds which we were able to use to support the Jay Ambe hospital in Chaparda when they were in dire need of an oxygen generator in May. The generosity of our friends and families are fundamental to the success of World Medicine and for this we are extremely thankful.

7c001b3e-b52d-4e37-918f-e00678591abb — Rafe, limbering up!

Although so many have contributed so much, it feels right to specifically mention 3 fundraisers who have particularly supported World Medicine this year. Firstly, Rafe Robinson, our youngest fundraiser who astonished us with his commitment to the Kiltwalk and rallying friends and family to support him. Rafe raised hundreds of pounds and amazingly we believe that he might be limbering up for another walk in 2022! What an absolute star!

27752260-7c2a-44cd-bb40-bb6667a6d77d — Stephanie, rolling along!

Secondly, Stephanie Robinson who skated, yes skated, 26 miles to raise funds for us. We have so much respect for this phenomenal achievement. Also, Stephanie asked work colleagues to donate money to our charity as a leaving present when she finished working recently before taking on a new job. It was such a generous gesture that really touched us.

Finally, Judith Blair, raised a huge amount of money through running an auricular acupuncture course and donating the fees to us. This was particularly poignant as we know Jude had a tough year one way and another.

alison-e1508520481546 — Alison Gould, Chair of Trustees

Alison, our chairperson has also had a tough 2021 but we are delighted that she is going into 2022 feeling stronger.

Ups and downs has definitely been a feature of 2021. We lost friends that were important to us at World Medicine, we experienced various illnesses, accidents and mishaps. We also gained 3 new graduates Teresa, Chloe, and Amy who impressed us with their enthusiasm and experience.. we are really excited to have them on board. Sadly, again, we had to make the decision to defer our January 2022 trip to Chaparda until January 2023 and so we hope they will wait patiently until then, when, surely, we will return once more!!

The Chaparda Challenge has kept many of us busy this year… read all about it on the dedicated page on our website. Chris Boles, our amazing IT friend and supporter has diligently diarised our efforts for us by writing a weekly blog. We have learnt so much about so many different parts of the world and for many of us, reading the diary has been the highlight of the whole virtual journey. Thank you Chris! Thousands of miles have now been walked in World Medicine’s name and thousands of pounds raised. We are not quite yet there but the end of the road is in sight… well almost!

Finally, we said goodbye to our fantastic fellow trustee Phil Montgomery and then said hello to our fabulous new trustee Gary Carvill. Never a dull moment!!

We look forward in 2022 to continue developing our commitment to providing acupuncture treatments in areas where it is most needed. With this in mind, we may canvas opinion regarding the naming of our charity to see if people believe that our name reflects the service we aim to provide. We are very committed to the work that we do and are very proud of all our volunteers, including acupuncturists, translators, fundraisers and administrative helpers and would like you all to have a say regarding our name! World Medicine’s tagline is “Acupuncture in Action”, and we have been wondering if this better reflects our work..

Meanwhile we wish you all a happy, healthy 2022 and would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your amazing support.

Emma on behalf of Trustees

Emma is a trustee, intrepid trekker, and a magnificent fund raiser for World Medicine. In September she tackled and conquered the 3 Lock Ultra – a 49 mile cross country endurance trek, raising a huge amount in the process. She continues to be a galvanising force and inspiration to others. Thank you, Emma!

Goodbye to 2021 and Welcome to 2022 Read More »

Dec 11 2021

JRS Clinic 2021 Report

Refugees, Volunteering

Jesuit Refugees Service (JRS)/World Medicine (WM) acupuncture clinic

– an interim report

This is a multi-seated clinic which first opened on 18 August 2021, and operates regularly on Wednesday afternoons following a schedule agreed between JRS and WM. The goal is to treat refugee friends living in the local community who already visit the JRS centre for various reasons such as food bank, legal advice, help with travel costs, learning the language and integration.
This report is a snapshot of progress to date.

Patients

A total of 24 people were treated between 18 August and 6 October 2021. The patient group was composed of refugee friends plus 2 staff members (15 male and 9 female), and a total of 75 treatments were delivered.

Volunteers

There are currently 8 volunteers rotating, and 2 more are due to join the group in December. All are appropriately qualified, insured and with recent DBS checks. It was pleasing to note that all the practitioners gave positive feedback about the location as well as the JRS organisation. In addition, feedback from patients regarding the treatment they received from practitioners was also very positive.

Treatments

Treatments are mainly auricular, and when patients present with complaints of painful distal joints these are also treated while the patient is seated. It should be noted that there are often multiple complaints for any one patient – joint pain, headache, insomnia: and that the practitioners have noted the consistent theme of anxiety, stress and low mood among the patient cohort.

Acupuncture is known to be cumulative, and WM offer all patients a ‘course’ of 6 treatments, with an emphasis on asking patients to have at least 3 sessions to gain the most from the therapy. To evaluate the benefit accrued, we generally assess data only from those patients who have attended for 3 or more sessions. One notable result here, however, was a patient who felt 80% better after 2 treatments, decided they were happy with this result and did not attend further.

It is early days in the life of this new clinic, and to follow is an interim review of progress: please note that many have only just started on their 6 sessions and may have had only 2 or 3, however we thought it would be useful to get a snapshot of progress. Using the criteria above, the table collates data from 15 patients over 67 treatments and reports the % change to the levels of complaint severity given at the start of their first treatments.

	No change (0%)	Small change (20%)	Moderate change (40%)	Significant change (60%)	Almost recovered (80%)	Fully recovered (100%)
No of patients	1	7	6	0	1	0
% Total assessed change	6.5%	47%	40%	0%	6.5%	0%

Conclusion

Overall, we are encouraged by the progress made. The clinic is becoming established at the JRS centre and WM look forward to successfully fulfilling their remit of using acupuncture to make a difference to the lives of a community who may have suffered from poverty, trauma or displacement.

JRS Clinic 2021 Report Read More »