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Volunteer Opportunities

Click on each opportunity below to read more about how you can help.

 

Refugee Clinics and Training

 

As the treatment of refugees is a major focal point for ACUAMB, we have a proposal to medical NGOs, international health organizations, corporations and philanthropic individuals to establish acupuncture clinics and training programs for PTSD treatment in refugee camps. In achieving this goal, high level funding is needed. ACUAMB wishes to partner with individuals or organizations that can recognize the enormous potential of this work. Please feel free to make comments and suggestions about how to move the proposal forward.

Download Proposal

Sister School Project

 

Seeking International Asian Medicine Colleges and Universities for establishment of

“Satellite” Sister School partnerships worldwide.

An important part of the mission of Acupuncture Ambassadors is to establish schools

of Acupuncture and Asian medicine worldwide. There are so many places in the world

that lack sufficient access to healthcare. Places like Nepal, India, Cambodia, South and

Central America and Africa. And most western style medical systems are too expensive

and unsustainable in these areas. These places would benefit greatly by training qualified

individuals interested in this medicine as a vocation and the people in need having

access to Acupuncture and Asian medicine practitioners in their own country and local

community. Even though there are more than 30 Humanitarian Acupuncture and Asian

Medicine groups currently serving the needy of the world, unfortunately there are only

rare occasions where these groups can travel to these places in need to treat patients and

to train medical professionals in the basics of the medicine.

Acupuncture Ambassadors (ACUAMB) is seeking to create partnerships with

International Asian Medicine Colleges and Universities in order to create “Satellite”

Sister School branches of their institutions and training centers of Asian Medicine in

these places in the world. These “satellite” schools can be established in already existing

educational institutions in that country or even “free standing” training centers in rural

areas.

In a poor country like Nepal for instance, where healthcare is a very limited commodity,

a school of Asian medicine would bring many already educated people an opportunity

to become practitioners and serve their communities. These students could someday

become teachers and pass their knowledge on to a new generation of Asian Medicine

practitioners.

Of interest to the College and University partners, in recent years western institutes

of higher learning are establishing themselves in other countries by creating branches

of their universities. “Where universities are heading now is toward becoming global

universities,” said Howard Rollins, the former director of international programs at

Georgia Tech University in the U.S.A., which has degree programs in France, Singapore,

Italy, South Africa and China, and plans for India. “We’ll have more and more

universities competing internationally for resources, faculty and the best students.”

New York University has an international presence, increasing study-abroad sites,

opening programs in Singapore, and exploring new partnerships in France. And now

plans for a comprehensive liberal arts branch campus in the Persian Gulf. At Education

City in Doha, Qatar’s capital, students can study medicine at Weill Medical College of

Cornell University, international affairs at Georgetown, computer science and business at

Carnegie Mellon, fine arts at Virginia Commonwealth, engineering at Texas A&M, and

soon, journalism at Northwestern.

Taking this trend in mind, Acupuncture Ambassadors is actively seeking an accredited,

international Acupuncture / Asian medicine college or university to create a sister school

affiliation / partnership for future sites of ACUAMB school projects. This sister school

relationship has potentially enormous benefits for both institutions, the host country’s

public health system and the patients they treat.

Of course the Satellite Sister School will benefit from the professional status and

potential access to resources (educational and financial) of a well-established

Acupuncture college and their programs. They would benefit from expertise in bringing

a well tested, first class quality of an Asian Medicine education, international expert

teachers of the medicine, expert administrators and potential access to scholarship

sponsors for low income students who wish to study but can not due to financial

restrictions. It also opens the door for international Asian students from neighboring

countries of where our schools are established who wish to have an education in a school

with an international reputation without the necessity of traveling to a country like the

U.S. or China for instance.

Our partner college would also receive great benefit. By taking its first steps into the

realm of international university operations they would be able to have a global spotlight

on their institution like none before.

For the partner college there can be student “semester abroad” programs conducted.

From my own personal experience treating in Nepal, I have seen so many cases that I

would never treat the U.S. Along with of course the cultural exchange benefit there is the

potential revenue having their Western or Eastern students spend a semester overseas.

In an under-developed country where the need for the medicine of acupuncture may

be the greatest, there is also an enormous social benefit to this kind of collaboration.

We are witnessing yet another emerging trend in our medicine, the emergence of

Humanitarian Acupuncture. In recent years many groups from around the world travel to

places like Guatemala, Peru, Senegal , Uganda and South Africa, Bali, India and Nepal

each year to conduct free acupuncture camps and clinics. Groups like World Medicine,

Acupuncturists W/O Borders, Mindful Medicine, Nepal Acupuncture Project, Global

Alternative Healthcare Project and Acupuncture Ambassadors are having a continuing

presence in Nepal. Western-based practitioners / teachers and students could now witness

and assist in humanitarian relief efforts throughout the world. Our partner university

can become a focal institution in coordinating humanitarian efforts not only with

Acupuncture / Asian Medicine groups but help introduce and integrate acupuncture into

the many prestigious western medicine NGOs, charitable organizations and institutions

(i.e. U.N., USAIDS, Doctors Without Borders etc.) that run numerous and ongoing

medical / surgical operation missions, clinics, hospitals and medical camps.

Joining with Acupuncture Ambassadors, our partner institutions can potentially co-

sponsor annual international symposiums on Acupuncture and Humanitarian Aid thus

creating a solid humanitarian profile for the school.

The role of Acupuncture Ambassadors (ACUAMB) is to act as a liaison between

both schools and oversee this sisterhood maintaining the quality and reputation of our

partner. A collaboration in an educational / medical institution in a developing and under

developed countries can become a model for many other partnerships or even stand alone

international campuses in other parts of the world wherever Acupuncture Ambassadors

has created alliances.

I encourage acupuncture and Asian medical schools around the world to consider

becoming a sister school. Please forward this information on to as many International

School Deans, Directors, teaching and clinical staff and alumni that you know to see if

together we can help make Satellite Sister Schools a reality.

Library for Model School - Book Donations 

 

As we continue to hone our plans for the creation of sustainable clinics and schools of Acupuncture worldwide, we have begun to collect books on western and Asian medicine for our library system. We wish our schools to be world class facilities and with your book donations these school libraries can certainly reach this goal.

All tax deductible book donations can be sent to:
Anthony M. Giovanniello
AMG Foundation
3537 Harpeth Springs Drive
Nashville , TN 37221

Global Volunteer Acupuncture Clinic Support – Supply Donations

 

ACUAMB has been connecting with a number of volunteer clinics all over Asia that have acupuncture as an integral part of their patient treatments. The issue of supplies of needles and other associated products (cotton balls, purple cloud burn cream, pure moxa etc.) is a great one. For example, two monks trained in acupuncture at the clinic in the Namo Buddha Monastery, Nepal treat 150 patients a week but often run out of needles. They have to close their doors until they receive more.

The Mae Tao Clinic (MTC), founded and directed by Dr. Cynthia Maung, provides free health care, including acupuncture, for refugees, migrant workers, and other individuals who cross the border from Burma to Thailand. People of all ethnicities and religions are welcome at the Clinic. They are always in need of supplies and volunteers to treat the multitudes of refugees and local patients.

Even the people who we train with the PTSD and pain protocols need an ongoing supply of ear press needles and ear seeds. These supplies are difficult to obtain in Nepal and elsewhere. We are in discussions with an Indian Acupuncturist who trains people in needle making. There is great potential to create a cottage industry of making needles and ear seeds near or onsite of clinics. In the meantime, any individuals or manufacturers out there who wish to help please Contact Us.

Acupuncture and Humanitarian Aid Conference

 

A collaboration with the German group TCM - Social Forum and the Indian Barefoot Acupuncturists has led to the planning of an international conference for Acupuncture and Humanitarian Aid sometime in autumn 2012. There are so many groups and individuals who have a similar mission and are doing fantastic work but have no means of connecting with each other.  We feel there is a great need to meet, share experiences, resources and find our commonality. We are planning the conference to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

If you would like to be involved in an ongoing dialogue about Humanitarian Acupuncture, our strategic partners are forming a community to create outlets for discussion. A questionnaire is available to fill out so we can better understand the needs of such a community and how we can best organize the forum. I encourage anyone who wishes to get involved in the planning and execution of the conference or to join the community send the questionnaire to Acupuncture Ambassadors.

Download Questionnaire

Documentary Television Series as Fundraiser

 

As a fundraiser and a unique vehicle to bring the efforts of volunteer acupuncture more in the public view, ACUAMB is developing a documentary style television series following Asian medicine practitioners on the road. Its working title is From Point To Point: On The Road with Modern Barefoot Doctors. An accompanying book on the series is currently in development. If you know of documentary and television production companies that may be interested, Contact Us.  A TV treatment is available and can be emailed to interested parties.

Develop Outreach to International Institutions (i.e. U.N., WHO, etc.)

 

Taking into consideration the WHO Declaration on Traditional Medicine (see button below), how can Acupuncture Ambassadors make in-roads into the U.N., WHO, governments and international NGO’s for the development of Humanitarian Acupuncture as a resource for healthcare globally?  Can Acupuncture Ambassadors work together with a “Doctors Without Borders-type of health care organization”?  We believe that this is a goal that has much promise and achievable.

The Integrator Blog

If you have suggestions and/or connections into these types of organizations please Contact Us.

Develop a "Kiva-Style" micro-loan institution approach for financing start-up acupuncture clinics and schools at mission sites worldwide.

 

The global community of acupuncturists is approximately 3,000,000 and growing daily. There are so many thousands of other related organizations i.e. schools, associations, manufacturers etc, on almost every continent.  The Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine community alone can be a vital resource in the financing of low cost, sustainable acupuncture clinics, training centers and schools worldwide. If you have “Kiva” experience and wish to help us develop this idea please Contact Us.

Acupuncture Ambassadors International Chapters

 

With the help of our new friends at the Acupuncture, Acupressure, Moxabustion Association of Nepal, Acupuncture Ambassadors will have a chapter in Nepal as we have already begun to establish ourselves as a viable entity there. We are also in discussion for chapters in Spain, Japan and Amman, Jordan at present. Exciting and potentially vital outposts for this work. If you have interest in developing a chapter in your State or home country please Contact Us.

 

 

 
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