Seeing Hands Blog

2012-01-22T04:17:00.000-08:00

Progress pics of the new rooms we are building on the roof in Pokhara.

This extension will give us another treatment/training room, a private office/staff room with much-needed storage space and one more bathroom (which should help with the hand-washing queues!). Our contractor has promised us it should be ready by mid-March and we are looking forward to kitting out our new space when the time comes.

We are still planning to open a third clinic this year as well, but building more rooms now will allow us to fulfil our need for extra space more cheaply in the short term. It will also enable us to move training activities back to Pokhara again from Kathmandu. Training in the capital did have some advantages but it was much more difficult for students to find nearby accommodation and make their way to the clinic for lessons.

2012-01-22T04:08:00.000-08:00

New signage in Pokhara

2012-01-22T01:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Bardia National Park with Mel Cash (ISRM founder & SHN Member), Cedric Jeanson (SHN Trustee) and Stefi Addetta (ISRM Tutor). Since Cedric and Mel both happened to come to Nepal at the same time, and we are all connected with Seeing Hands, we took a trip together to Bardia (one of Nepal's more remote National Parks) with the hope of seeing tigers. Sadly the big cats eluded us but we had a great time in the jungle all the same, and stunning scenery on the way back to Pokhara, via Lumbini.

Mel and Stefi also spent a few days teaching both the students in Kathmandu and the therapists in Pokhara during their stay in Nepal and were particularly impressed with their skill levels. Mel helped us to devise a 30 minute remedial massage routine to suit runners taking part in the Annapurna 100km race on New Year's Day (which SHN supported with discounts for participants). The therapists who treated the runners also got a good education on what a calf muscle feels like after a 100km race (like stone apparently!).

2011-11-24T02:04:00.000-08:00

A fond farewell to Andrew!

At the end of October, everyone at SHN was delighted to welcome back Andrew Salvietti, who volunteered for us previously in June and simply couldn't stay away! He arrived during Tihar and has done great things with our students. Sagar and Santosh are making excellent progress now, competently performing leg massage and really developing their massage skills in general.

2011-11-24T02:03:00.002-08:00

The students and therapists have had some treats too, courtesy of Andrew. Pictured are Chiran, Sagar Santosh and his wife Manisha enjoying a live Blues concert in Thamel in the evening, and exploring Bhaktapur in their leisure time.

2011-11-24T02:03:00.001-08:00

In addition to teaching, Andrew has also helped us by painting the front entrance and designing and gifting to us two beautiful new signs for our gate. The smaller sign is carved from slate and Chiran is pictured giving it the 'smell test'!

2011-11-24T02:03:00.000-08:00

We also owe a massive thankyou to Andrew for once again raising a substantial sum of money for us to support the continuing training programme (Andrew is pictured handing it over) and bringing a rucksack full of donated equipment (assistive aids for the blind), chocolate, downloaded music, whisky for Chiran's birthday (which he is pictured opening) and many other goodies. :) :)

Andrew has built lasting bonds with all our staff and students and will be sorely missed. Pictured are Sagar and Santosh saying their goodbyes.

2011-11-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

Tihar Celebrations

High season is now upon us and we have been frantically busy with both clinics hitting record numbers in October. This is particularly good, considering that both Dashain and Tihar (Deepwali) fell in that month so we had the usual festival-related disruptions with staff and students heading home to celebrate with their families. Fortunately we managed to keep both clinics open for all but a couple of days. Pictured is the Kathmandu clinic adorned with candles and a mandala for Laxmi Puja, a special festival day in Deepwali when people light their homes to tempt in Laxmi (the Hindu goddess of wealth) and bring them prosperity for the coming year. The mandala was made by Sneha who is pictured with her handiwork and we lit it later in the evening, at the same time marking our first year's anniversary for the new clinic in Kathmandu.

2011-11-15T06:37:00.000-08:00

Laxmi and Chiran are both well (Laxmi came back to work in September) and seem recovered from their traumatic experiences. Both have asked us to pass on their thanks for the many messages of condolences they recieved at that time. A busy clinic in Kathmandu has helped to keep them distracted and we are all really pleased to see client numbers increasing so well after the slow monsoon months.

In other news - we got new stairs at the existing clinic (first step towards a planned 2nd floor expansion) and Govinda got himself some new teeth - which look fantastic. Both are pictured.

2011-11-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

SHN on facebook
If two blogs and a website weren't enough..we now have a facebook page as well. If you are on facebook, please give our page a look..and hopefully a 'Like' too. There are lots of interesting photos on there and we particularly like these before and after montages of our staff - their faces say it all!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Hands-Nepal/172867839460992

2011-07-08T10:26:00.001-07:00

Sad News

This month we have some very sad news to convey, as many of you were aware, our therapists Chiran and Laxmi were expecting a baby at the end of June. Their boy, Endeavour, was born on 19^th with a healthy weight but sadly died just 35 hours later in the hospital after contracting meningitis. Obviously both parents are devastated and still struggling to make sense of such a traumatic event.

Andrew – our latest volunteer was here alone with them (we had left for the UK 10 days previously) and coped bravely, providing the support and compassion they needed in the early stages of their grief and shock. We are immensely grateful for this – and relieved that he was there in our absence. We returned as fast as we could (unfortunately not quite fast enough to catch Andrew before his departure back to Sydney) and can see that he has had a very positive and supportive influence, and forged deep and lasting bonds with staff and students alike. Sneha and Didi (aka Bhagwati) also did (and are continuing to do) an amazing job looking after Laxmi and Chiran, and the Seeing Hands family in Kathmandu is now much stronger as a result.

2011-07-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

In happier news...
The students are making excellent progress (thanks again to Andrew) and are now extremely well acquainted with Henry, our skeleton. Their level of English is much better than previous student intakes, and this is allowing us to teach the course in more depth and really test their understanding.

Pictured is some origami (a basket and helicopter) made by Deepak (just one of his many talents). We now have a collection of paper birds, boats and boxes and we’re rapidly running out of paper for him to fold!

The clinic in Kathmandu is also doing much better than we expected – now we are into monsoon season it is actually beating Pokhara in terms of client numbers. We are unlikely to break even while the rains pour on but this is a very encouraging sign and the few clients we are getting are helping to keep Chiran distracted. Ramji has also temporarily relocated from Pokhara to work alongside Chiran until Laxmi is well enough to return. He is enjoying his time in Thamel so far (spending most of it playfighting with Sagar!) and is keeping us all entertained with his antics.

2011-07-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks and a plea for more help!

Special thanks to Andrew Salvetti..again! Also to Daniel and Laxmi Sweeting, a Nepali-English couple who asked their wedding guests not to give presents, but gifts of money for a charitable cause in Nepal. After meeting some of our therapists and seeing our work firsthand, they chose to donate their marriage fund to Seeing Hands and we are touched by their gesture. Right now, support like this is crucial for the charity, which would be running on empty were it not for our regular donors. Income from the clinic businesses is helping to support day to day operations but we are in low season now, and expecting to make a loss in both clinics for the next 2-3 months. We also need volunteers (therapists) – particularly for the first half of 2012 so if you can support us in any way (physical or financial), please get in touch.

2011-06-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

New Volunteer Arrives!A warm welcome to Andrew Salvetti , who will be teaching the new students in Kathmandu for the next month. Andrew is our 2nd Aussie volunteer to date, he runs a successful mobile remedial sports massage business in Sydney and has treated several notable clients including Sir Ian McKellan! He has also done an amazing job raising funds for us, raffling off massages and other prizes donated by clients and friends to collect a fantastic total of $1740 AUD which is a huge help for the project and especially the continuing training programme.

For more pics see SHN in Pictures

2011-06-02T23:27:00.001-07:00

Why no girls? Although we are anxious to help blind women in Nepal, we do not yet have sufficient funds to open a third clinic in the next year, so it is possible these latest students will have to seek work in local spas and hotels when they graduate. Since such places would expect female therapists to massage males too, we feel the risks (the seedier side of massage still exists in Nepal) would be too high. We do however hope to train more girls in the future when we are sure we can offer them work within a safer, more caring environment.

2011-06-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

New Students! We are delighted to announce we have taken on 3 new students, their names are Santosh Sapkota, Sagar Subedi and Deepak Pradhan (pictured below) All are totally blind and purely coincidentally, all of them are also 24 years old!

Santosh comes from Goldhungha district near Kathmandu and has 7 siblings, his blindness is a result of medicine that should not have been prescribed to his mother during pregnancy (we’re not sure what). Until recently, he was receiving a scholarship to study at Bachelor level but it was cut after he failed his 2nd year. He says he is not a natural academic but really enjoys learning English, and wants to do something more practical with his hands. He plays the guitar well and clearly has good dexterity so we think a hands on profession like massage will be ideal for him. Santosh is recently married and like many other blinds here, plays cricket in his spare time.

Sagar comes from Syangja district. He was partially blind from birth due to nerve damage, but then lost his sight completely following a failed operation in his teenage years to correct the damage. He is the only son in his family and so desperately wants to earn a living to support his parents, but even though he is studying for a bachelor, his job prospects are extremely limited because of his blindness. Sagar says he’s been interested in learning the skill of massage for a long time now (this was his fourth attempt to get on our course!) – and is delighted to get the opportunity to train in something that can actually lead to a job. He also plays cricket in his spare time and says he loves to swim when he gets the chance.

Deepak comes from Ramechaap district and is currently living in a rented room in Koteshwor on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Like Sagar, he was partially sighted from birth but became totally blind following a bungled eye operation when he was 9. Somehow he has managed to survive on meagre handouts from the government and his family for the past few years while completing a bachelor in Education at the local campus. He is clearly academically bright but is also realistic about his future job prospects, knowing that even if he goes on to complete a Masters his chances of finding paid work are very slim. Deepak is positive and motivated with a very enquiring mind, he describes himself as athletic and says he thoroughly enjoys physical training. He also loves to play chess (when he can get his hands on an adapted board) and modestly says he is ‘quite good’ at it.

2011-06-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

New Things
Thanks to a fantastic April and May at both clinics (Kathmandu has now broken even!) the project has also generated (itself!) some extra spending money for some much needed new things. We have now got a new generator for Pokhara (our 3yr old one spluttered its last gasp a few weeks ago) and had stairs made for easier access to the roof, in line with our future plans to build a basic room up there (now we are using all 3 rooms, secure storage space is at a premium!). We’ve also bought an outside table, chairs and shade, as with 8 therapists, staff and guests we are rapidly running out of places for everybody to sit! In Kathmandu we’ve splashed out on a water filter (the tap water was beyond brackish and not healthy to wash in) and a new skeleton for the forthcoming training programme, who we have named Henry, as sadly George was just too broken and inarticulate for our needs.

2011-04-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to announce that all our students have successfully qualified – pictured are Ramji, Hari, Saraswati and Shanti with their certificates.

All are now working full time in the Pokhara clinic, which is a little over-staffed now with 8 therapists (and only 5 couches – one broke!) so we’re hoping to move a couple to Kathmandu as soon as we can. Thankfully April is already shaping up to be a busy month so hopefully there will be enough clients for them all!

We will now be taking a couple of months break before starting our new student selections, as we are considering shifting our training base to Kathmandu so blind people from a broader geographical area can benefit. Our most experienced therapist, ChiranJeevi, who previously worked for 3 years as an Assistant Teacher in Pokhara, is also based at our Kathmandu clinic now, and we don’t want to see his excellent teaching skills going to waste! So we now need some time to sort out the logistics of running the training programme in a new location – and to make space for more therapists – and potentially students in or near our clinic in Thamel.

2011-04-11T07:03:00.001-07:00

Samrat (pictured) has now been promoted to Senior Therapist, he’s been working at our Pokhara clinic for 3 years now and has been showing a lot of maturity and responsibility lately. He’s experienced enough now and we think he’ll do a great job keeping the others in check!

2011-04-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some bad news

Unfortunately in March we had a break-in at the clinic in Kathmandu and lost our monthly takings (equivalent of about £250). The thieves broke through two padlocks and two locks to get in, so we’ve stepped up security now and started banking more regularly. No insurance in Nepal and there’s no hope of catching the culprits, we’re just hoping they get some seriously bad karma for ripping off a charity! The new clinic still hasn’t broken even so a loss was the last thing we needed.. but we’re dusting ourselves off and hoping for a better month in April. We can see a sustainable future for both clinics, but may just have to wait until 2012!

2011-03-19T01:40:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to announce that all the students have now successfully passed their theory exams. Ramji scored the highest mark with 97% and was followed by Hari and Shanti (who both scored 88%), and Sarswati who scored 83%. All students are pictured on a staff night out to celebrate at a local Indian restaurant. Their exams were slightly delayed as Rob was forced to go back to the Uk for a couple of weeks in February for health reasons (all sorted now). The students have yet to sit their practical exams, which are scheduled for the end of this month. All are expected to pass but we may not be employing others immediately in Kathmandu as business hasn’t picked up there as fast as we would have liked. Over the next few weeks we will be working hard to better market the new clinic with more signs and leafleting around Thamel.

2011-03-19T01:34:00.000-07:00

In February we took Chiran to see Bryan Adams play Kathmandu as part of his world tour. The concert was an unprecedented event in Nepal since Bryan Adams is the first ever international performer to play here – in front of a full moon and a massive crowd of 20,000 crazed, mobile phone waving fans. Pictured are Andre, Susan and Chiran at the concert with a mobile-phone starred background.

2011-03-19T01:25:00.000-07:00

Andre returned to volunteer for us in mid February after a short stint in Thailand for some massage training/CPD. Whilst there, he studied a ‘balance ball’ course and brought two balls back to Nepal for the students and therapists to exercise with. These balls have proved a big hit with all, especially Laxmi who is pregnant and so needs to do special exercises. Pictured is Hari ‘on the ball’ in Pokhara. Andre has spent time at both clinics over the last month, refining techniques, bringing in volunteer bodies for the students to practise on and sprucing up the Kathmandu clinic with various painting and cleaning jobs. Pictured is Andre inside our 1000 litre water tank on the roof doing some much needed cleaning!

2011-01-28T04:09:00.000-08:00

New Uniforms!
Our smart new polo shirts arrived this week so we took the opportunity for a quick photo. Pictured from left to right are: Susan, Ramji, Samrat, Rob, Govinda (front row) Sarsati, Lalu, Shanti and Sita. For the first time, they've got print on the backs too - hence the reverse shot.
Ramji, Sarsati, Shanti and Hari are all expected to pass their theory exams in a matter of weeks and we are busy rounding up volunteer 'bodies' who are willing to get a massage from a student in return for a donation so they can do the required number of practical hours.
Pictured is Rob doing theory revision with Ramji, Shanti and Sarsati in the garden (because its warmer in the sun!). Both clinics are pretty quiet now - since it is cold, and the low season, but we are confident things will pick up again in February and we're hoping to qualify all the students before high season starts again in March.

2010-11-29T00:18:00.000-08:00

As requested, here are some pics of the inside of the new clinic (treatment room & reception), and our new Didi (housekeeper) called Bhagawati.

We've seen nearly 50 clients this month in Kathmandu - not a bad start and better than we were expecting. It is a great feeling to have finally finished the fitout and word is slowly spreading about our services. We're hoping to get some guidebook updates soon too as wrong number listings are giving us some headaches. We are in the process of updating our website but in the meantime, if anyone is looking for our clinic or wanting to contact us - the details are below with a map:

Kathmandu Clinic

01-4253513
Kumari Marg, Jyatha, Thamel
(Near Gaia Restaurant)

Pokhara Clinic

061-465786
Lakeside 6, Opposite Basundhara Park
(Near Greenline office)

2010-11-29T00:16:00.001-08:00

Andre's practical sessions have brought the students on really well - they are all doing full body massages (in one go as opposed to disparate parts of the body) and have each now had a chance to demonstrate their skills on some willing volunteer clients - much earlier than we expected!

Andre has also introduced a new concept - (called 4-arm massage) where two therapists massage one person at the same time, synchronising their movements. The idea being that four hands are better than two and the inability to concentrate on all four hands at once helps the brain to switch off so the body can relax more deeply. The girls are fantastic at it but Hari and Ramji aren't yet managing to coordinate their movements. Still, they've had some excellent feedback from clients and you never know..we might offer 4-arm massage as a treatment in future.

2010-11-29T00:13:00.000-08:00

Andre is by far our most tactile volunteer - using close contact to quickly build bonds and trust with the students. Much to their and the therapists delight, breaktimes are usually filled with playfights, tickling, teasing and human balancing feats. They've given him a new Nepali name: Deepak (for reasons completely unknown). Pictured are Govinda and Anmol playfighting with Andre.

2010-11-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

It gives us great pleasure to announce that on November 1st 2010, our second Seeing Hands Clinic opened in Kathmandu.

Comprising two treatment rooms and accommodation for therapists, the new clinic is based in a quiet area of Thamel (off Jyatha) and is already attracting passing tourists. As our opening also coincided with celebrations for Tihar (Deepwali or festival of lights), we’ve decorated with vibrant marigold malas, oil lamps and candles.

Our new receptionist, Sneha made a beautiful mandala in our entranceway and all these efforts are designed to attract Laxmi, the God of Wealth into our clinic.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been working frantically - the last fortnight a frenzy of cleaning, painting, carpentry and other fitout works. Budgets are admittedly tight but we plan to work hard to market the clinic over the next few months so we can quickly generate the revenue we need to cover the set up costs. Chiran and Laxmi are presently working in the Kathmandu clinic and will be joined by more therapists as the clinic gets busier. In our first week we’ve only seen a handful of clients but we’re confident more will follow soon once word gets around.

Meanwhile, back in Pokhara the students are receiving training from our latest volunteer; Andre, who is qualified in a number of massage therapies including sports, traditional Thai massage and acupressure. Andre is also fluent in a number of languages such as Portuguese (mother tongue), Swedish, English, Spanish, Norwegian and Danish. We’ll bring you more news on their progress soon.

2010-10-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

Paul took plenty of great shots of our students, staff and clinic - too many to upload here. To see more you can visit his full Seeing Hands photo album online. (click to visit)

2010-09-22T08:53:00.001-07:00

More ISRM Volunteers...

In August, another ISRM-certified therapist called Paul Martin braved the monsoon rains to volunteer for Seeing Hands. www.restoresportsmassage.co.uk

Paul has done a fantastic job, bringing the students on leaps and bounds with both their theoretical understanding and practical massage skill.

Technique-wise they still need plenty of practice and guidance but their palpation skills and knowledge of different positions and strokes are dramatically improved and should get better still as their hands get stronger. With our usual teaching assistant ChiranJeevi away on leave, qualified therapists Samrat and Govinda got the opportunity to demonstrate their teaching skills, helping with translation and giving extra ‘hands-on’ training (Pictured is Samrat giving Hari a massage).

2010-09-22T08:46:00.001-07:00

Paul’s daily yoga sessions were especially popular, with the qualified therapists eager to join in. Yoga helps them to develop their strength, mobility and posture, all of which they need to protect their bodies from the wear and tear of daily massage work. The girls in particular love practicing their postures and have mastered some tricky balances – pictured below (amongst other yoga pics) is Shanti using her core muscles to hold a difficult headstand.

2010-09-22T08:38:00.001-07:00

Theory-wise they’ve now learnt three more systems, (circulatory, respiratory and lymphatic) and he’s worked hard on getting them to understand how these systems relate and work with each other.

They’ve also learnt the names, locations and actions of many more muscles, and have a new improved understanding of muscle structure (thanks to some intricate models Paul created using straws, clingfilm and glue).

2010-09-22T08:34:00.001-07:00

Paul quickly went ‘native’, eating local, braving the roadside ‘chokpot’ and snacking on dried noodles as the students do. His camera was his constant companion and we are delighted to have some great pictures of all our students and staff (see shninpictures for more) – Govinda also took a great one of himself! (below)

Rob will now be training the students until our next volunteer (Andre Baptista from Portugal) joins us in October. Plans to set up the second clinic in Kathmandu are still in the making, but we haven’t found the right location yet. More news on this as it comes...

2010-06-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

New Student Progress

The new students have made fantastic progress with Sheryl, their first volunteer trainer. Sheryl (another LSSM/ISRM trained therapist) has worked them really hard and made an incredible effort - even cycling for an hour to train them on the girls' campus when they couldn't attend lessons due to the 7 day strike! Pictured are the students taking Braille notes in a makeshift classroom.

They have now learnt the names, locations and movements for most of the bones in the body, with Ramji achieving the highest marks in tests so far (he got 99% on one test paper!).

Hari is also showing some natural talent with consistently high marks in practical tests - despite his obvious physical limitations. As for the girls, Shanti has consistently scored good marks in practicals and Sarswati is hot on Ramji's heels for the A grades in her theory papers (93% is her highest score so far). Shanti is still doing well with theory, despite having less English skills than the rest, and Sarswati will be much better with the practical side when she learns how to feel 'without looking' (her partial sight is actually a hinderance in this respect!)

Sheryl (pictured doing exercises with the students) also did a great job of keeping our therapists in check and looking after the clinic business side of things. As she has now finished her stint with SHN and is now off on a round the world trip, the students will now be coached by Chiran (our most Senior therapist, who also works as a teaching assistant) until we arrive at the beginning of July.

Pictured from left to right are: Ramji, Hari, Shanti and Sarswati, with Sheryl and Chiran behind.

2010-03-14T05:52:00.001-07:00

We're happy to say the therapists all seem to be really enjoying their jobs and are keen to keep learning new techniques and skills to improve their work. All their English skills are vastly improved, with Chiran K also learning some basic Japanese. It is also a joy to see how confident they are and we are really proud of them all and how far they have come. Pictured are Susan and Samrat playing 'blind hide and seek' (he hides in a room and we have to find him blindfolded, then we switch - great fun on quiet days!).

2010-03-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

New Students!
Last week we conducted interviews for our next student intake and have now chosen 4 new blind students who will officially begin their massage studies in April. They are:

Shanti Bicar
Shanti is 19yrs and totally blind. Her family are from Parvat district and she has 5 other siblings. She is the only one blind (from birth) but the reason is not known. Her family are from a low caste farming background and cannot support her in her studies. Shanti says life is hard because she cannot easily get the opportunity to study and get a job with her blindness. She would not have been sent to school but a kind lady in her village spoke to her parents and helped to arrange for her to travel to Pokhara to study. She is now at intermediate level (equivalent of a-level) and has learnt basic computer skills. She enjoys listening to the radio in her spare time.

Sarsati Chetri
Sarsati is 20yrs and from Syangja district near to Pokhara. She is partially sighted and can read large print in strong light. She has suffered with blindness since birth but only joined the blind community in Pokhara 3 yrs ago when she came here to study (she has an Aunt and Uncle living here who helped her to do this). There are 11 in her family and although she is the only one blind, she also has a 6 yr old sister who is disabled due to malnutrition. She is now studying English at Intermediate level. In her spare time she enjoys listening to the radio and playing cricket. Earlier this year she became a Christian and says this has been a big change in her life and her faith is helping her to be a better person.

Hari KC
Hari is 22 yrs and from Baglung district (75km away) He is totally blind from birth and has a large and impoverished family background. His father is a subsistence farmer so does not generate his own income. Hari says his parents sometimes give him food but cannot give him any money. Last year one of his sisters died (kidney disease) and his two brothers are also blind. One of them is deaf as well and as the youngest in the family, Hari is the only one capable of generating an income to help support them. Last year he had an opportunity to join a music training course but his parents couldn’t find the fee needed. Hari also plays in the blind cricket team and says he likes to keep himself fit by jogging on campus. He is also studying for a Bachelor in Nepali

Ramji Paudel
Ramji is 21yrs and comes from Lumbini. He is the younger brother of Chiran Jeevi and is partially sighted (can see things only in the distance in strong light). Like Chiran his blindness was also caused by malnutrition, due to the size of their family (15!). Four of their family are blind and their father also suffers from Diabetes and Arthritis. Ramji is also studying for a Bachelor in Nepali. He plays the keyboard and sometimes plays as a bowler in the blind cricket team. He has also learnt some basic computer skills.

As usual we are looking for sponsors to help cover the cost of their training (£35 a month). If you are interested in sponsoring one of our blind students or would like to make a regular donation of any size by standing order, please get in touch.

2010-03-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

New volunteers...
At the end of December the therapists were joined by a new volunteer; Susan Mollison (SMTO) who did a fantastic job of refining their techniques, refreshing their knowledge and skills and generally looking after the clinic in our absence. Now, as the high season begins, the massage clinic is thriving and we are getting plenty of regular customers, even during low season. Much of this is due to the Lonely Planet recommendation and we are also now the top attraction in Pokhara on Tripadvisor.com! A new bigger sign (pictured)

is also helping to bring more footfall to the clinic. The income this is generating is making a huge difference to the project, but sadly because inflation in Nepal is at an all time high, and the exchange rate has dropped by 20%, we are still a few years away from our sustainable goals. :(

2009-11-02T03:30:00.000-08:00

Students Qualify!!!

We are delighted to announce that all our students have passed their final exams and are now working as qualified therapists in the clinic!!! Govinda (pictured to the right of Rob) scored the highest mark overall and his partial level of sight is already proving useful since he is also able to help with booking appointments and distributing leaflets to local hotels and restaurants.

All are delighted to finally have gainful employment as masseurs and thanks to the Lonely Planet, the clinic is busier than ever (150 clients came in October alone!). Thanks especially to all the volunteers, sponsors and supporters who made this possible.

2009-11-02T03:27:00.001-08:00

Promotions, Birthdays & Reunions...
Chiran Jeevi, our most talented and experienced masseur, turned 27 in Octoberand we had birthday cake at the clinic to celebrate.

As we are particularly proud of the maturity and responsibility he has shown over the past year, we have promoted him to the position of Senior Therapist and he will now be taking charge of the new therapists' work from now on.

During Diwali we were also delighted to get a visit from Sarita, who trained with us in 06-07 but married the following year and moved to Kathmandu where her husband works. She is now working as a school teacher and we are overjoyed to see her happy, living a fulfilled and independent life.

2009-11-02T03:24:00.000-08:00

Kind thanks to Naqi, who donated our latest stock of massage lotion!

2009-11-02T03:10:00.000-08:00

Clinic developments

Thanks to the hard work done by our housekeeper (Anju) the clinic garden is positively blooming, and the tiny papaya trees we planted last year have shot up and are already bearing fruit. Our 'bari' (vegetable garden) is also overflowing now with cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, beans, radishes, aubergines and coriander.

Also pictured is Kul, our project manager, fitting the clinic's new phone line, which is going to make booking appointments much easier. Sue has also been busy reprinting all our posters, business cards and leaflets with the new number, which we will be distributing over the next few weeks.

2009-11-02T03:08:00.001-08:00

Future Plans
At present we do not have sufficient funding or space to take on another group of students and so will be delaying the next intake until early next year (hopefully February). We are also hoping to secure a grant to establish a second clinic where we can provide employment in the same way to future graduates of the SHN training program. Our work so far has proved the concept and so we're keen to expand and help more disadvantaged blind Nepalis build a life and a future for themselves. If you would like to donate or sponsor a student, please visit our website where we have paypal facilities or email info@Seeinghandsnepal.org. Many thanks.

2009-10-03T01:54:00.000-07:00

Seeing Hands in the Lonely Planet!

We're delighted to announce that the clinic has featured in the latest edition of the Nepal Lonely Planet, which came out at the beginning of September. Marketing-wise, this is a huge leap forward for us and should help dramatically to raise awareness about our services and bring many more paying clients through the clinic's doors. This is key to the project's sustainability as the clinic's income from customers helps to cover the cost of training more students, and expanding the project so more blind people can benefit and be employed as Seeing Hands Masseurs. To buy the book visit: http://shop.lonelyplanet.com

2009-10-03T01:44:00.000-07:00

Jo Returns

Yet another big thankyou to Jo Chatfield who returned to Nepal in August for her third stint of volunteering for us, along with her friend Sarah (pictured doing theory revision with Chiran).

They've spent the past few weeks, refining the students' techniques and doing revision and mock tests in preparation for their final exams. All the students are now progressing well and have worked hard studying during the monsoon months. They have done plenty of massage treatments on volunteer clients too, and we now expect them to all qualify when we return in October. Pictured are photos taken by Jo of all the students in action.

Jo and Sarah took over from Andrew Toal and his daughter Lorna, who braved the monsoon rains to spend a few weeks volunteering for us at the beginning of August. Andrew is an experienced Sports Masseur, a lecturer in Anatomy and Physiology, and more Nepal-savvy than most (having visited Nepal countless times for trekking and climbing trips over the past 25 years). Lorna is a recently qualified therapist too so the students got real value from them as a team, and are well on their way to qualifying. We particularly like the great new t-shirts (Pictured in Jo's photos) that they kindly arranged for and gave to the students as gifts. Pictured below is Andrew with the students.

2009-06-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Heartfelt thanks to Evan and Andy, our latest volunteers from Washington State, USA, who have done a fantastic job with our students over the last couple of months. Evan, (a
massage practitioner) and Andy, (an occupational therapist), have both volunteered extensively on other projects, and their experience of teaching people with developmental and physical disabilities has proved really valuable.

They kept the students focussed with a great new range of teaching techniques - encouraging them to play learning-based games , test each other, (and their teachers!) and interpret raised diagrams. Thanks to Andy's rehabilitation and occupational health skills, they also now have individual home exercise programmes designed to address their particular needs (such as posture, strength, coordination and body awareness). They are all at least three-quarters of the way through their courses now and have shown huge improvement, scoring high in both practical and theory tests. The girls are proving to be the strongest of the group right now.

Pictured is Andy taking a theory class with the students, and Evan teaching anatomy and showing Chiran how to recognize Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS, a muscle disorder). We're delighted to hear they are already planning a return trip in 2010!

The clinic is now closed during the monsoon, with the students attending part time lessons with Chiran, our most experienced blind therapist, until our next set of volunteers arrive in August.

2009-04-18T08:34:00.001-07:00

Kind thanks to our latest volunteer Vanessa, another ISRM-trained therapist who spent most of March training our students. She's worked on their massage skills, helped them with theory learning taught them new exercise routines (they even know Pilates now!) and even taken them on a boat on the lake. We'd resisted the boat experience as they can be tricky to get in and out of - even if you're sighted but they did fine and loved it. Vanessa comments on her own blog:

"Here i am in Pokhara - 2 weeks into my volunteering position at the Seeing Hands Massage Clinic. As usual at 8pm at night the electricity has just gone off...we all get to experience the 'blind path' at some stage in Nepal! My torch has been my trusty companion. Nepal truly does have a way of getting under your skin - quite literally. The students have completely won me over. From day 1 their eagerness to please the new volunteer was charming. The qualified therapists likewise. The clinic is simply beautiful. Three rooms - a training room and two large treatment rooms - clean, tidy, spacious and welcoming. The therapists could not be more professional and efficient. There is even a bell under the couch to summon your therapist into the room."

New volunteers Andy and Evan arrived from the US at the beginning of April. We will bring you news of their progress in due course.

2009-02-07T06:15:00.000-08:00

More ISRM Volunteers...

In December, we were honoured to have training input from a new member of SHN - Mel Cash (pictured with students). Mel is founder and principal tutor of the London School of Sports Massage (LSSM), the Institute of Sports and Remedial Massage (ISRM) and author of 3 massage books - including one of the leading international textbooks on massage. He has trekked and climbed many times in Nepal and has a reputation as both an entertaining and inspirational teacher.

Joining Mel was Manicon Pillai, a 2nd year student at the ISRM (he presently works in IT as a Network Specialist) who is also a brigade member volunteer with St John's Ambulance UK. Manicon taught the students theory, was a 'body' for their practice sessions with Mel and helped to promote the clinic locally by distributing leaflets and flyers. During his time in Nepal he also volunteered at the HRDC disabled children's hospital in Kathmandu.

(Left to right: Laxmi, Lalu and Govinda)

During the freezing winter months (and in the absence of any electricity to run the heaters), Mel took the opportunity to concentrate on some clothes on (or dry massage) techniques.
And until the chilly temperatures eventually prompted Mel to donate some new gas-run heaters (on behalf of the ISRM), lessons outside in the garden with Manicon were a great opportunity to warm up in the sun.
The students have learnt a huge amount and all have grown tremendously in confidence. By the looks of things, training sessions were a lot of fun for everyone!

Pictured is Chiran,playing a game Manicon invented where locating the right bone brings a sweet-shaped reward.
Despite their size, the girls are surprisingly strong and are learning to use their body weight. Pictured below is Laxmi, learning to use her elbows and forearms to best effect.

Chiran is presently our star pupil.

With Lalu, (who now prefers to be called Swasti) not far behind. Govinda is good (although sometimes can be a little overenthusiastic!)
Laxmi is also making great progress, developing a more 'gentle' style to suit her tiny frame. She already has her own little speciality - face massage!

The best news is that Samrat passed his final exam on the 28th and saw his first two paying clients the same day. They gave great feedback and Mel and Manicon both said he looked really happy and proud. BIG thanks to Mel and Manicon and even bigger congratulations to Samrat. He struggled to begin with but was so determined to improve his situation and has worked really hard. We too are immensely proud of him and can't wait to see more of our students follow in his footsteps.

For the next fortnight our students will be coached by trained therapists Chiran J and Anita until Vanessa, our next volunteer(another ISRM trained therapist) arrives.

2009-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

HUGE thanks (and a sad goodbye from the students) to Ainsley and Jason who finished their placements at the end of November.

They did fantastic work with all the students and managed well despite the mixed ability levels. Ainsley taught all five, practically from scratch, as well as helping to manage the daily running of the clinic. She quickly got them doing daily exercise routines to build their strength and says she had lots of fun learning to be 'really creative' with teaching methods. In an article in the London Massage Company newsletter she writes:

"The blind aspect made it interesting and a challenge attimes, but they are all so friendly and really inspiring to work with. This experience has really opened my eyes to what’s important in life."

Jason helped by promoting the clinic locally, pitching in with english lessons and doing some long overdue maintenance jobs. (Thanks Jason for your legendary fixing abilities!) Click on SHN in Pictures for more pics.

2008-11-21T05:44:00.000-08:00

Being Blind in Nepal

Jason, one of our latest volunteers, asked the students
about some of the challenges of being blind in a country
like Nepal. Here are some of the things they said:

"Its hard for blind people to study because we can't get
braille books and the teachers ignore us and don't convey
what is on the blackboard. We are not given any extra time
in exams and we have to pay a writer to dictate
our answers."

"No-one wants to know us and we are made fun of, teased,
harrassed and heckled - especially when we are alone"

"The streets and footpaths are very unsafe for blind
people and strangers don't bother to help. It is very
difficult to get around alone as nothing is blind
friendly. Some strangers get angry when we accidentally
touch them with our canes"

"Buses often don't stop for us and ignore blind people
because we don't have to pay"

"People assume we can't do anything. It is hard for us to get an education and there are no jobs for blind people"

These are just a few of the reasons why what we are doing is so important. Please keep the support coming and we'll post more news and pictures very soon...

2008-11-21T05:41:00.000-08:00

About the New Students

Chiran K
Chiran is 21 yrs old and married to Apechhya who is also
blind. They live in a small rented apartment in Bagar and
Chiran is also trying to study for a bachelor in english
at the local college. He has completed a radio presenting
course as well and says it is his ambition to be both a
massage therapist and radio presenter (of course he can
easily do both!) He says he believes blind people can do
anything and really gets inspiration from other blind
people's feats. In the morning, he also practices his
other hobby, cricket, before coming to massage lessons. He
says this opportunity is very important to him as it will
give him the chance to earn money, which he will use to
support himself and his wife, and also to further his
education.

Govinda
Govinda is 21 and has around 5% vision. Like Chiran K and
Samrat, he is also a big fan of blind cricket. Sadly his
father died seven years ago and he has 5 other siblings,
who are all struggling to survive. One sister is also
partially blind. His eldest brother recently left his wife
and child at the family home in Baglung to go to India to
try and earn some money. None of the family can help to
support Govinda but he is determined to educate himself
and earn money so he can raise himself and his family out
of poverty. He is studying history at college and says it
is difficult because he has to pay a writer to dictate his
answers to in exams. This is the second time he has
applied to join our course.

Laxmi
Laxmi is 20 yrs old and totally blind. Her parents, who
live in Lahchook near Pokhara are farmers and very poor.
She went to the local Amar Singh school where she met us
for the first time in 2005 when we went to do a talk to a
class of blind children about the profession of massage
and the project we were planning to start. Since then she
has been determined to get involved and this is the 3rd
time she has applied to join our course. Although
previously her english and confidence skills were lacking,
she has worked really hard over the last few years to
improve them and we are now really pleased to be able to
help her fulfil her dream. She is studying sociology and
is very excited about her massage course. She likes
singing in her spare time and has a beautiful voice.

Lalumaya
Lalu is the youngest student at just 19 yrs. She is
classed as totally blind because she can only see 1%. She
has a total of 11 siblings who are from Tanahu District
(between Kathmandu and Pokhara). Her parents are also
farmers and are very poor. She also likes playing cricket,
and singing and is studying history at college. She says
she wants to support herself, give her future a bright
outlook and help other blind people get into massage.

2008-10-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

A busy season to come..

The clinic is doing fantastically well this season with word of our services spreading like wildfire. Chiran and Anita are delighted to be busy again and now understand the importance of saving up their earnings to sustain them during the quiet monsoon months. They've also done a great job of coaching Samrat and are really keen to take on more responsibility with both the clinic and our training program. We couldn't be prouder.

As our garden blossoms, so do our students and we're immensely grateful to all our staff, students and volunteers for helping us to get this far.

2008-10-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

The successful candidates began their training at the beginning of October with our latest volunteer trainers Ainsley & Jason. They are:

Chiran Kumwar (20 yrs, totally blind)

Govinda Rijal 22 yrs (partially sighted)

Laxmi Adhikari (19 yrs, totally blind)

Lalumaya Bhujel (19yrs, totally blind)

2008-10-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

New Students!

Fortunately we were able to quickly begin the process of taking on a new student group. Pictured is Susan, guiding a group of blind students to the clinic for the first round of interviews.

2008-10-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Student Changes...

We've had a whirlwind of a trip this time and a lot has happened. Sadly we bade farewell to three former students. Uma & Shyam were both awarded teaching jobs by the Nepalese government during the monsoon. Although we're disappointed they won't be continuing with their massage studies, it is great news for them because the jobs are in their own districts. Shushma had baby Vision (pictured) in August and although he is doing well now, she has taken a longer break from her massage studies to care for him full time. Thanks especially to those who gave their support to Vision directly.

2008-08-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Massage - even in the Monsoon!

The clinic is doing far better than we expected - even during the quiet (and very hot) monsoon months. We recieved this feedback in the UK via email from a visiting client:

“I just wanted to write and tell you what a fantastic massage I had following my Annapurna circuit trek. The practitioner (Chiran) was extremely professional and a very skilled and an excellent massage therapist. I live in London and do deep tissue massage myself. He may remember me as I came back the next day for another one! I think the concept of Seeing Hands is amazing and I feel the work being done is at a very high standard.”

We’ve had hundreds of equally brilliant comments from other clients – some of whom even said it was their best massage ever! The newly qualified therapists saw about 70 clients a month between them last season and with promised listings in 2009 travel guides, plus regular custom from hotels, we see a bright and most importantly, sustainable future for the project.

Those of you with a keen eye might also notice from the picture that the building has grown! During the wetter months of the monsoon, our Project Manager Kul has been busy braving the rain to build our extension. We now have another much-needed training room/office and an extra shower and toilet, which will be a big help. (More students means busier bathrooms!) The extension is on the left of the photo and we'll post photos of the inside after we've kitted it out.

2008-08-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

Computer Training for the Blind

“Getting job is difficult for blind people so I am very lucky for this opportunity. Your support is very important for my life”

This is an extract from a letter written by Samrat to his sponsor. He typed it all by himself on our new computer using the screen reading software Jaws. He started his computer training in April and we were delighted to get our first ever email from him earlier this month. We began funding a small computer training project in Pokhara last year and so far, 14 blind individuals have benefited (including our students). We are presently working hard to try and get funding to develop this project further.

2008-05-01T04:37:00.000-07:00

Sad news
It is with great sadness that we must convey the untimely death of Dr Arthur Bailey, stepfather to Rob and management committee member of Seeing Hands (alongside Christine, his wife of 22 yrs). Arthur died just three weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer and all our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time. He was there when we first began this project and has been a sagelike source of wisdom ever since. He will be sorely missed. In a touching gesture, the family has requested no flowers, only donations to Seeing Hands.

2008-05-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

Namaste from the UK!
Spring greetings to all our supporters! Sadly the snails pace internet connection and the daily power cuts conspired to prevent us posting to the blog in Nepal but we're back now, after a very successful trip with plenty of good news...

New Student Progress
With the help of our recent volunteers, the new students are progressing faster than we ever could have expected. They have sailed through their first two theory training units and are already demonstrating that they have natural talents on the practical side. Chiran and Anita, (our qualified therapists) are now also helping to coach the new students. Their skills have all improved dramatically thanks to Jo's hard work in January.

Samrat (pictured with Rob) is showing real talent and passion for massage. He's always the first to arrive for lessons and if he can work on his concentration we think he will make an excellent therapist.

Over the last few months, the Seeing Hands Clinic business has really taken off. The therapists are presently seeing about 70 clients a month between them (during high season only) and all our therapists seem to be spending their new incomes responsibly. We've had amazing support from the word of mouth of those who have come and the Chettri Sisters Lodge, who send a steady stream of female clients in search of a 'safe' massage. We have also been promised listings in the next issues of the Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide which should do a lot of our marketing for us. Locally we have been distributing leaflets,posters and stickers to all the local restaurants and hotels and gradually the word is spreading. Boredom still sets in on quiet days though and so to help with that, we have now equipped the clinic with a small radio and a ludo set for the blind - which Chiran and Anita are pictured playing.

Unfortunately, the business was so healthy that conducting training sessions with the new students became increasingly difficult because both rooms were needed for massages. Fortunately we already have plans in place to build an additional room. Construction on our new 'office' (which will also function as a training/rec room with attached shower & toilet) is now set to begin in May with completion planned for August. We hope to bring you progress pics in due course.

2008-02-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

Seeing Hands on ITV!

Below are links to some short clips of us in Nepal - as shown on ITV's regional news programme Calendar. Many thanks to all those involved in the making of this footage, particularly Peter Gordon and Nick Finnis, (for all their filming & volunteering efforts) and John Thurwell (for editing it).

http://www.itvlocal.com/yorkshire/newsextra/?player=YOR_NewsExtra_26&void=151590

http://www.itvlocal.com/yorkshire/newsextra/?player=YOR_NewsExtra_26&void=152120

http://www.itvlocal.com/yorkshire/newsextra/?player=YOR_NewsExtra_26&void=152663

2008-01-20T11:39:00.001-08:00

Kind Thanks to….
All those who are directly helping this project to fulfil its potential – Gabby, Jo, Audrey (Jo’s Mum who helped out at the clinic over Xmas and was a willing ‘body’ for our students) and Melanie and her partner Renato, (our newest volunteers) who will be attempting to build upon all their good work in February.

2008-01-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

A Warm Welcome Back to….
Jo Chatfield, who took a month out of her busy massage practice to volunteer for a second time for Seeing Hands over the Christmas period. Gabby Rogers kickstarted our new students' training in November and thanks to the dedicated effort put in by Gabby and Jo, they are already showing promise and making speedy progress.

Best of all, under Jo's instruction, Chiran and Anita have both passed their final exams. They are delighted to have qualified and to be finally working alongside their co-students in the clinic. The new students have also done their first-ever massages on a few volunteer clients and the feedback is already encouraging.

2007-10-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

Namaste to Simon!

Kind thanks to Simon (a fellow brit who made a generous donation after we met on the Langtang trek and explained our work). Please drop us a line as we didn't get your email address and we'd love to stay in touch. Rob & Sue

2007-10-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Been to the Seeing Hands Clinic?
Word of Mouth is the most powerful marketing tool there is. Please help this project to grow by telling others about our service. We would be especially grateful if you could recommend us to the Lonely Planet by clicking on the link to their feedback form below, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/contact/feedback.cfm
which will help us to get a proper listing in their guidebook. The future sustainability of this training project is entirely dependent upon the success of the Seeing Hands Massage Clinic. Many thanks for your help.

2007-10-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Clinic Opens!
On 5th October, the Seeing Hands Massage Clinic officially opened (with Laxman and Sarita working as qualified therapists). So far, they have seen at least 35 clients between them - from a range of different countries and the feedback is positively glowing! Leaflets, flyers and business cards have all been printed and (with help from Pete, Nick & Gabby) are finding their way into the local restaurants, bars and hotels. Word is gradually spreading and we hope to get some local and national publicity about the clinic and the Seeing Hands Project in the next few months.

2007-10-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

Another volunteer!
Pictured (with the new students) is our third volunteer, Gabby Rogers, a massage therapist from Argyll. After a fortnight of massage workshops with the new students, she is now working hard to increase Chiran and Anita's skill levels - as well as helping to market and manage the massage clinic.

2007-10-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

Meet the New Students..
Samrat Gautam
Samrat is our youngest student at just 19. His mother and father live locally (Birauta) and are very poor. His mother works hard every day in the fields to provide food and clothes for Samrat and send him to school. He has been totally blind from birth and at the age of 2, got typhoid. He would have died but fortunately a japanese tourist donated the blood that he needed. His english is quite weak but he is determined to learn and support himself. He also enjoys listening to music and playing blind cricket.

Update September 2008: Of the 4 students who joined our course for 2008, 3 have now left. Two were lucky enough to get teaching jobs in their own districts and one is taking a break due to family commitments and will return next year. We are presently in the process of recruiting new students to take their places.

2007-10-13T02:21:00.000-07:00

We are overjoyed to announce that two of our students have passed their exams - Laxman and Sarita are now qualified masseurs (their results were 86% and 94% respectively) and for the last week, they have been earning their own incomes. The massage clients they have seen so far have given excellent feedback - one lady even said it was one of the best massages she had ever had! The other two students in our first group will take their exams in a few months as they have fallen behind (Anita has missed lessons due to her academic studies and Chiran has been in hospital with Typhoid but is thankfully on the road to recovery now).

The future looks promising for the clinic and the students and it is an exciting time for all of us. More news soon.....

2007-09-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

After Cedric left, we were joined by friends (and freelance film producers/directors) Peter Gordon and Nick Finnis, who have filmed hours of our activities with a view to making a short documentary about our work (Probably for regional tv - maybe more...). We've been filmed doing all sorts - from working, teaching and shopping to visiting the local buddhist monastery and boating on the lake! Not only will the film be extremely useful for fundraising, it has also been a lot of fun to do, and the locals certainly seem bemused by our activities!

2007-09-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a very busy few months in Nepal and we've finally found the time (and the technology) to post a quick Namaste! We were joined shortly after our arrival this time by Cedric, our Director of Fundraising in the US. He has been a stoic supporter of Seeing Hands since our chance meeting in Tibet in 2005 but has never seen our work first-hand, and was able to meet the students in person (and get a massage or two) before heading off to do a trek in the Annapurna region. The smiles say it all!

2007-08-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

After much work behind the scenes, we are delighted to announce that Seeing Hands Nepal is now a Registered Charity [No: 1120429]. This means that the UK Charity Commission (an independent regulator aiming to ensure the integrity of charities) has reviewed and approved our activities. With registered status we can apply for funding that we couldn’t previously get and reclaim tax (gift-aid) on the donations we receive from UK individuals.

2007-07-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

With the monsoon raining on in Nepal (and Yorkshire it seems) there hasn't been much to report. The students are still doing their computer training and having monthly exams but without tourists, they only have each other to practice on for now. News from Nepal is that they are using the time well and we are hoping this break will help them learn to be more independent.

Training begins again in September, when they will complete their course and a group of new students will be recruited.

This month we are delighted to have formed a promising new link with the Institute of Sports and Remedial Massage (ISRM). They have generously volunteered to support (and help to develop) our training course, and provide free tutor training for volunteers. Linking with the ISRM should also help us to raise awareness and recruit extra volunteer therapists. We are proud to be working with Mel Cash and Susan Findlay from the London School of Sports Massage to achieve this, and once again grateful to Jo Chatfield, who brought us all together!

2007-05-04T03:27:00.000-07:00

Our First Volunteer Trainer!

Sincere thanks to Joanne Chatfield (an experienced Sports & Remedial Massage Therapist) who arrived in March to help train our students. She has worked really hard and done a fantastic job, teaching an intensive practical course designed to improve their postures and techniques so they can work more effectively. They have all made excellent progress, scoring high marks in both theory and practical tests. Each of them has also done at least 8 massages upon volunteer customers, who have all given good feedback and donated generously to the project in return. Treatments have been described as; "excellent" "very good" and "very relaxing" and the clinic itself is getting good ratings from clients. One lady could not believe it was "such a high standard and so very European". There is still a lot of room for developing the students’ understanding and communication skills but we are very pleased about the difference that it is already clear that short term volunteers can make. We now hope to finish training these students in Autumn, when we plan to recruit more students and volunteers. Thanks to everyone who made this possible, especially Jo, and those who donated towards her flight ticket.

2007-02-09T07:58:00.001-08:00

More Sponsorship and Thank You’s!
We have just received the exciting news that The Onaway Trust have kindly agreed to provide a grant of £5000 towards our project. They are a local charitable trust and only support a handful of projects in Asia so we are very lucky to be on their list. With their help, we can finally begin to expand this project, by taking on the next group of students and bringing in more volunteers to help with training.

Since we returned to the UK we have also been overwhelmed by the generosity of our supporters, both locally and overseas. Particular thanks to The McTurk Charitable Trust, Ruth White Yoga Products, Olicana Fish and Chip Shop, Cedric Jeanson (and friends), Alison and Tom Harrison, Philip and Karen Croft, Michael and Carole Stephens, Simon Dilger, Jo Cape, Heather Smith, the Cawood family and the rest….. We are truly grateful for your support and can promise that it goes directly to where it is most needed.

2007-02-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

More Volunteers!

We are especially grateful to Mark Fidler, an old friend (but a new volunteer for SHN) who has kindly agreed to spend the next couple of months helping out with the project generally and supervising the students. Mark had simply intended to pay us a brief visit on his way to India but was quickly drafted in as a ‘practice body’ for the students. When he realised we needed him for much more than just his body(!!), he agreed to stay on as a volunteer and is doing a great job in our absence. We’re also hoping to utilise his gardening skills once the weather improves.

2007-02-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Computer Training for the Blind

Our partners at the Nepal Association of the Blind recently informed us that they had managed to arrange for some computers and a classroom for blind students to learn in at the local university. Unfortunately though, they did not have enough to pay for a teacher. Fortunately SHN was able to step in and pay for a part time computer trainer for an entire year!! This will benefit not just our students, but many other young disadvantaged blind people in the area. They will begin their 3-month computer training courses in February and we are looking forward to receiving our first emails!

2007-02-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

Student Progress

Training Unit 2 was completed in mid-January and once again, the students all passed with flying colours. They are determined to study hard and succeed and their dedication makes them a pleasure to teach. They have just started doing ‘practice’ massages on volunteer tourists and so are now learning the finer points, such as timing massages and the importance of putting oil and towels back in the same place! Over the next few months, they will be following an agreed schedule of practice and study alongside their usual monthly theory exams. Click the SHN In Pictures link on the right to see more pictures of the students practising in their new training centre.

2006-12-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

A New Home!
Pictured is our fantastic new home, with its bold colours creating strong contrasts to help the partially sighted find their way around. The building process was not without its frustrations but (thankfully) it did not go over budget and took just five months (two of which were in the monsoon!) to complete. The students are delighted with it and for the first time can really visualise their futures as masseurs. Having a permanent base for the project has made a huge difference and means that now we can finally start rounding up some willing tourists for the students to practise on!

One treatment room (pictured) is complete with an attached (hot!) shower and we are working on the furnishing the office/reception now with information posters and the suchlike. Next on the list is the signage but because our budget is limited, some things will simply have to wait – like our planned sensory garden with vegetable plots. We’ve got a few token spinach plants and cauliflowers in but it’s the wrong time of year for growing here really. (Only mad Englishmen start gardening in the middle of winter!) Still, we’ve very excited about planting all sorts of wonderful things in future such as guava, papaya, orange and banana trees!

HUGE thanks must go to our diligent volunteer project manager Kul Bahadur Acharya, who gave up five months of his life to coordinate the construction (instead of employing a contractor) and in doing so saved us well over a thousand pounds.

2006-12-24T07:01:00.000-08:00

Training Progress
The students have sailed through the second unit of their theory training (there are four units in total). The anatomy aspects are quite technical but their memories are astoundingly good and they can already recite the names and positions of the majority of the bones, muscles and organs. Laxman and Sarita are still showing excellent natural talent for massage and all are helped by our best English-speaker, Chiran, who is a star pupil, if a little over-enthusiastic when it comes to inventing new massage techniques!

2006-11-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

Peace at last!

On the 21st of November a long-awaited peace accord was signed between the government and the Maoists bringing an end to over 10 years of conflict in Nepal. A national holiday was declared and the people rejoiced in high spirits. By the evening, candles were flickering in every single home as a symbol of peace. The rebel fighters are now withdrawing to special camps and placing their weapons in storage. Prisoners of war and nearly a quarter of a million internally-displaced people are finally beginning to return to their homes.

The Nepalese now need to rebuild their country and to do this, the revenue from tourism, (one of its biggest industries which has suffered badly as a result of the conflict), will be crucial. This project is also dependent upon tourism; since without sufficient numbers of tourist ‘clients’, it cannot become truly sustainable. Our massage clinic should be properly up and running by this time next year and we’re sincerely hoping that visitor numbers will be back to normal by then. There has never been a better time – or a better reason to visit Nepal so please get booking!

2006-11-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

Training Centre Nears Completion....

More progress shots of the training centre! Completion should be within the next few weeks – when we plan to have an opening ceremony. Keep an eye on this blog for more progress shots.

2006-11-11T02:34:00.000-08:00

Looking Professional!

The students are delighted with their new uniforms. Brought from the UK, these proper massage tunics are more expensive than the T-shirts they were practising in before but well worth it. They have made the students feel so proud and professional and are much better quality. Plus they have handy pockets for talking timers and bottles of oil. Pictured are Chiran and Anita having a practice session in their new uniforms.

2006-11-11T02:16:00.000-08:00

Blind Singing Programme

During Deepwali, our training programme was slightly delayed whilst the students visited local houses and businesses with a singing and dancing programme called ‘Bhailo’. Throughout the Deepwali festival, or Tihar (festival of lights), as it is more commonly known in Nepal; children visit houses and sing and dance traditional songs for money(about 10pence per visit depending on the size of the group and the quality of the singing & dancing). Their 27-strong blind ‘bhailo group’ arrived in a bus and included 8 singers (male and female) one harmonium player and two drummers. There was also a driver and a dancer (both sighted) a large throng of clappers, and about 5 partially sighted men who were proudly in charge of a huge speaker system with a microphone (and terrible quality). Fortunately we only had to endure about 15 minutes of ear-splitting whistling and whining from the mike before the electricity went off! Many of them also tripped over trying to navigate the crowd and foreign objects in a foreign backyard. The music was excellent though, with Laxmi, a blind girl we have come across before taking the lead role with her beautiful singing voice. With a minimum donation of about £10, they collectively raised enough to provide numerous scholarships for young blind people so they could attend school. In a country where many people believe blindness to be contagious, it was a brave initiative and shows just how determined they are to raise awareness and improve the situation of other blind people in Nepal. Well done students!

2006-11-11T02:05:00.000-08:00

Student Progress
Our first group of students have already exceeded all our expectations. In their monthly theory examinations, Chiran and Anita have shown an amazing understanding of anatomy, consistently scoring 100%. Laxman and Sarita are not far behind at around the 90% mark but fare better when it comes to practical marks. They’re all refreshingly enthusiastic too, and have actually asked if lessons could start at 6am with a vigorous exercise session!

Laxman is doing an exceptional job of managing his study alongside his family commitments. He is pictured here with his partially sighted wife, Sita and their 6 month old baby, Prajwal, who is sporting a cute outfit that was kindly donated by Laxman’s sponsors. (A&T Harrison, Ilkley)

2006-09-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

Building a future
The construction of the first stage of our training centre in Pokhara is now well underway, with completion expected in November 2006. Our project manager, Kul Bahadur Acharya is pictured (standing) with contractors on site, fixing the bamboo scaffolding in preparation for the roof. The ground floor will contain a classroom, treatment room, reception, toilets and showers. Thanks again to all those who made this building possible. We will keep posting pictures as the building progresses and we can't wait to start using it!

2006-08-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Heartfelt thanks to Dr Marc and JoAnne Gabel who raised an amazing £860 for the project through a fundraising folk concert in Toronto on July 9th. Despite the world cup parties, they managed to feed and entertain an impressive turnout of 45 in their condo, which was festooned with pictures of the project. Why Us? Well JoAnne (a Shiatsu therapist) and Marc say they would prefer to leave Malaria to Bill Gates, and work with something where the results for individuals are more direct and meaningful. (Thanks again guys, your support means everything to our students) Rob & Sue Ainley

2006-06-16T03:14:00.000-07:00

Sponsorship at last!

We've just received the fantastic news that the Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust (who we applied to in March) have agreed to award us a £5000 grant!! This money will make a huge difference to the project, and we hope it will encourage other similar charitable trusts to support us too. So BIG BIG thanks to the Trustees at the A&N Trust - and our very own trustee; Kate Hencher, whose sterling efforts with helping us to write grant applications made all the difference.

Its a great start but as you can see, we're still only half-way towards our target so please keep donating if you can. The amounts are pretty insignificant compared with what this project can actually do. If we get enough funding we can literally CHANGE LIVES - so please help us in any way you can. Thankyou

2006-05-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Supporters......

We are delighted to announce that the Seeing Hands Nepal Massage Training Program officially began in April. The first four students are already making excellent progress with our specially-designed massage curriculum and we have finally been able to purchase much-needed equipment - thanks to the generous support we have received to date.

2006-05-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Meet the Students.....

Chiran Jeevi Poudel

Chiran is our most talkative student and is also fast becoming known for his legendary rice-eating abilities, (five plates of rice in one sitting!). He comes from a large family in which 5 of 9 children are blind as a result of severe malnutrition so we suspect he is making up for lost time. His family comes from a very poor area but he was lucky enough to win a scholarship (from the Nepal Association of the Blind) to study English at the school in Pokhara. Now 23, Chiran holds a Bachelor level degree in English but as he so eloquently puts it himself; “education is nothing without opportunity”. Without this course, Chiran would have extremely limited job prospects. He says he wants to learn to heal people with his hands and change attitudes about the blind in society.

Anita Gawali

Anita was a late admission, but despite missing the first few classes, she has shown an amazing aptitude for learning anatomy. At 19 she is quite small but surprisingly strong and certainly one of the most confident partially sighted girls we have met. Her mother and father are both sighted but she receives no financial help from them whatsoever – they are too poor. She is determined in her studies and says that one day she hopes to help support them. Anita speaks good English and recognises that this course is “[her] best opportunity for a bright future”

Laxman Subedi

At 27, Laxman is our oldest (and most serious!) student. As the student with the best sight, he has taken on the role of carer and does a fantastic job of safely guiding students to and from lessons. Sadly a simple operation in childhood could have saved his sight but his parents were poor and illiterate and did not know. He is now married to Sita (who is also partially-sighted) and they have a 2 month old baby boy who is sighted, called Prajwal (which means ‘light’ in Nepali). He desperately needs this training so he can get a job and support his new family.

Sarita Acharya

Sarita is 20 and although totally blind, often wears glasses to pretend she is not. Both her parents died when she was in her teens and she now lives with her brother, who cannot support her financially because he has his own family to feed. Despite lacking the others’ advanced English skills, confidence (and volume!), she is quietly and doggedly learning everything we teach. She can also use a computer quite proficiently and has a lovely polite, respectful manner. She says she longs to be self-dependent and have employment of her own.

2006-05-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

Strikes, Curfews and Demonstrations.....

No-one could have predicted the sudden upsurge in the political conflict that coincided with our training start date. For a period of 20 days, a strike or ‘bandh’ was imposed throughout Nepal in protest against King Gyanendra’s autocratic rule.

Many of our family, friends and supporters were concerned for our safety during this time but it was needless. Despite massive civil unrest in other parts of the country, life goes on much as normal in Nepal's tourist areas, where we are based. The total lack of road transport was a problem for us but luckily our students were willing to walk to lessons outside of the curfews. A 2-hr walk to get to school is not unusual in Nepal, but is of course a little more challenging when you are blind!

Sadly the road strike did prevent us from receiving our much needed anatomy training models. Too large to come by air, these models were supposed to arrive from India by road courier but could not; and as a result we were forced to improvise. Pictured is Rob with ‘George’ a skeleton we managed to purchase from a scientific traders in Pokhara. He is not, strictly speaking, exactly anatomically correct (being made in Nepal of course), but our students think he is great and he’s really helped their understanding at a basic level.

2006-05-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

Building a Future.....
Unfortunately, Nepal’s recent turmoil has also seriously hampered our search for a major sponsor. Funding is currently our biggest obstacle. Although we have now managed to begin the training part of our project thanks to the kind generosity of our private donors, we still need a further £16,000 in order to build and equip a permanent training centre and clinic.

This facility is crucial for the future sustainability of the project and we literally must build these students a future for the project to be a success. The land we identified for this purpose is still available and we are most grateful to Robinson Design Group for providing architectural plans for the site in lieu of a donation. For the next few months we will be concentrating on raising money for this building.

2006-05-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

Thank You!
We would like to take the opportunity to extend a huge thank you to our board of trustees for their patient support and fundraising efforts. Particular thanks to Kate Hencher, Cedric Jeanson, and Carole and Michael Stephens, The rest of our generous supporters are far too numerous to mention individually but we are sincerely grateful for your support and can promise your money goes directly to where it is most needed.
Rob & Sue Ainley, SHN Project-Coordinators