SIOM Community Outreach Goes Global: 
Delivering Chinese Medicine to Remote Villages in Bali

In 2007 SIOM partnered with The Global Alternative Healthcare Project (GAHP) Founder Frank Butler to sponsor a series of continuing education seminars to train acupuncturists in skills that would be useful for treating populations in the developing world. The training included instructions for utilizing Chinese medicine to treat infectious disease, trauma and wilderness first aid, and pediatric healthcare.

Having completed the training, a team of five acupuncturists (including SIOM graduates Sara Beckner and Karen Kraft) flew to Indonesia in December 2007 toting heavy bags of needles, herbs and other Chinese medical supplies with the sole intention of helping as many people as possible with the resources of their own hands and the contents of their suitcases. They were self-funded volunteers who wanted to share their skills and wealth of knowledge with people who had no access to healthcare.

The question being asked by this journey was: would it be possible to bring capable practitioners from the United States, who had very little experience in international humanitarian aid work, directly to people in need of healthcare and have a sustainable impact on those communities?

Less than a month later, when the team of practitioners returned home after providing more than 2,400 treatments to needy villagers, the answer was a resounding yes!

In the span of twenty-five days, the GAHP team of practitioners visited seven outreach sites, including five banjar (village hamlets), as well as two established local non-profit organizations (Yaysan Bumi Sehat and East Bali Poverty Project). The team provided care to a population that included expectant mothers, infants, children with developmental challenges and other special needs, and adult villagers with a variety of medical complaints.

The pilot field trip was considered a success on many levels. As a result, there has been an exciting interest in establishing a non-profit organization in Bali, whose mission would be to create and maintain a fully functioning mobile clinic. Following the pilot model, it is envisioned that the mobile clinic, stocked with appropriate equipment and treatment supplies, and manned by rotating, skilled practitioners, will provide much needed healthcare to the Balinese villagers. In addition, an important aspect of the proposed model is to instill ownership of the mobile clinic to local directors and practitioners through education and joint participation.

For more info about upcoming Global Alternative Healthcare Projects, please visit www.YouCanChangeTheWorldNow.com