We (Anna Jolly and Gwenan Evans, both acupuncturists and members of the British Acupuncture Council) are going out to Sindupalchok district in Nepal in March/April 2020 to help establish an acupuncture clinic at a rural health centre which serves several mountain villages in an area around 60 kilometres north of Kathmandu. Sindupalchok was the worst hit area in Nepal with the highest death rates caused by the devastating earthquake in 2015. They are gradually rebuilding their lives and services for the scattered community. The Palchok Health Post in Helambhu-6 village is run by the amazing Tamang Sancha, who goes out of his way to provide health care in this remote and poor region.

We will be taking out both acupuncture supplies (needles, moxa, gua sha and cupping tools) and general medical supplies that Sancha has asked for such as bandages and dressings, foetal heart monitors etc.

All the money we raise will go towards equipping the clinic, so that we can provide as many supplies as possible and allow us to buy basic equipment such as treatment couches.

This is a community which is very familiar with hardship and which is striving to rebuild itself after the devastation wrought by the earthquake 4 years ago. The immediate phase when international attention was focused on the region, and aid poured in, is long gone, and they are now trying to establish an infrastructure which will improve the healthcare of the population on a sustainable ongoing basis.