Latest News From Our Volunteers in Nepal
Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in the world and has been plagued with political unrest and military conflict for the past decade. In 2015, a pair of major earthquakes devastated this small and fragile country.
Since 2008, the Acupuncture Relief Project has provided over 300,000 treatments to patients living in rural villages outside of Kathmandu Nepal. Our efforts include the treatment of patients living without access to modern medical care as well as people suffering from extreme poverty, substance abuse and social disfranchisement.
Common conditions include musculoskeletal pain, digestive pain, hypertension, diabetes, stroke rehabilitation, uterine prolapse, asthma, and recovery from tuberculosis treatment, typhoid fever, and surgery.
In the aftermath of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, this episode explores the challenges of providing basic medical access for people living in rural areas.
Acupuncture Relief Project tackles complicated medical cases through accurate assessment and the cooperation of both governmental and non-governmental agencies.
Cooperation with the local government yields a unique opportunities to establish a new integrated medicine outpost in Bajra Barahi, Makawanpur, Nepal.
Complicated medical cases require extraordinary effort. This episode follows 4-year-old Sushmita in her battle with tuberculosis.
Drug and alcohol abuse is a constant issue in both rural and urban areas of Nepal. Local customs and few treatment facilities prove difficult obstacles.
Interpreters help make a critical connection between patients and practitioners. This episode explores the people that make our medicine possible and what it takes to do the job.
This episode looks at the people and the process of creating a new generation of Nepali rural health providers.
In this 2011, documentary, Film-maker Tristan Stoch successfully illustrates many of the complexities of providing primary medical care in a third world environment.
After 15 clinic days our team has provided 1100 acupuncture treatments to over 600 patients. We have had such amazing success at relieving chronic pain, severe headaches and some neurological issues that we have graduated many of our patients on to maintenance treatment schedules. We are now seeing far more complicated cases including gastric ulcers, skin rashes and lesions, congestive heart failure and angina, astronomical numbers of hypertension cases, injuries from physical abuse, and many cases involving malnutrition.
One of the most difficult things we are seeing are patients who have had tuberculosis and have undergone 10-12 months of multi-drug treatment. Between the destructive nature of the disease and the toxic effects of the long-term treatment, these patients have had every system in their bodies ravaged. We hope that with regular acupuncture treatments, herbal medicine, dietary changes and excercise we can slowly help them recover some of their vitality.
We have all settled into a more sustainable treatment pace of about 80 patients per day. This pace allows us to spend more time with each patient while still providing enough treatment capacity to meet the communities needs. It also allows us to take care of ourselves with regular meals and enough rest (something we were certainly lacking the first week or so). We have also found the best shop in town to drink Nepali tea.
Thanks for your continued support... we have enjoyed all of the email! --Andrew
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It seems so long ago (Nov. 10th) that we were all sitting on the roof of the clinic drinking tea and wondering if anyone would show up. Then the doors opened... After seven 10 hour days, our team of four has treated nearly 600 people. It has been a very exciting, challenging and exhausting week for all of us. Many of our patients have never seen a doctor in their entire life and every morning they flood into the clinic and sometimes wait up to six hours to be treated. Chronic pain from a lifetime of backbreaking work is the most common complaint however we have also treated dozens of asthma cases, strokes, skin conditions, unhealed broken bones, leopard attack wounds, diabetes, gastritis and ear infections. We have treated patients as old as 90 and as young as 6 months. All have been overwhelmingly receptive to what must be a completely confusing experience. Many of our patients have been thrown by us needling a wrist or a foot to treat their shoulder pain and we have been asked numerous times "what kind of medicine is on the needles?" Most days the electricity goes out at some point and we treat our last few patients by candlelight. | |
We are completely indebted to our interpreting staff who have been working tirelessly beside us facilitating our crucial verbal link with our patients. And to the kind monks at the monastery who make sure we get an ample supply of Nepali tea and food during the day. In the evenings we sit on the roof, laugh, unwind and share what we have learned during the day. Currently we are back in Kathmandu taking a two day rest, eating large quantities of western food and indulging in hot showers. The clinic reopens on November 21st and we are looking forward another full week. Thanks for all of the email and words of encouragement. Stay tuned for future updates. | |
Acupuncture Relief Project, Inc. is a volunteer-based, 501(c)3 non-profit organization (Tax ID: 26-3335265). Our mission is to provide free medical support to those affected by poverty, conflict or disaster while offering an educationally meaningful experience to influence the professional development and personal growth of compassionate medical practitioners.