The ICOM International Community

We are delighted to be working in partnership with overseas organisations to assist in finding volunteer Acupuncturists to contribute their skills for vital projects. Some are clinics that treat some of the poorest people in the world, others provide training for Acupuncturists where otherwise none is available. The community is also actively helping fledgeling Acupuncture colleges overseas with shared values to establish themselves.

Our International Outreach programme provides a fantastic opportunity for ICOM graduates to gain incredible clinic experience overseas. Many of our students and staff have travelled to volunteer in projects in Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Our Mission Statement

The mission statement for the International Outreach Programme is as follows:

To facilitate the exchange of knowledge and direct working experience linking Acupuncture projects and Colleges internationally.
To promote the spreading of Classical Chinese Medicine and its implementation to help local communities.
To support volunteer Acupuncture projects in places of need.
To provide support to fledgeling Acupuncture Colleges to get established.
To facilitate international travel and mutual exchange of qualified Acupuncturists for the purpose of volunteering in projects as well as teaching and exchanging knowledge.
To facilitate Acupuncture research internationally.
To facilitate student/ teacher exchanges between colleges.

Sri Lanka

One of our graduates, Dhivya Sivanesan has recently established an Acupuncture school and clinic in Sri Lanka and is running an important outreach programme treating a rural population traumatised by civil war. Several members of the ICOM faculty have recently volunteered their time to providing teaching.

There are exciting opportunities for graduates to volunteer in the clinic in Colombo, along with the possibility of helping with the outreach programme in the north of Sri Lanka.

Myanmar

For over 10 years, ICOM Graduates and Acupuncture practitioners have been involved in a charitable project in Myanmar training Doctors at the Watchet Jivitadhana Sanga Hospital near Saigang City. The hospital was founded in 1984 as a charitable institution and provides low-cost health services to monks and nuns, as well as the general public. A purpose-built Acupuncture unit has now been added and groups of ICOM Graduates have travelled there many times over the years to provide training and to treat patients in the hospital.

The project was established by Kirsten Germann and early on Peter van Kervel led a 5 year program leading to the international (WFAS) qualification for the Myanmar Acupuncturists. The volunteer programme is now run by Kirsten, Bea Erler and Jinal Shah.

Currently visits to Myanmar have been suspended due to the political situation there. It is hoped that soon it will be safe to resume volunteering placements.

Nepal

ICOM has also worked with Nepal Pain Relief and TUKI to find volunteers for their wonderful programme in Nepal. Following the devastating earthquake there in 2015, NPR was set up to establish pain relief stations in two evacuation centres in Pokhara, working with the British Gurkha Welfare Scheme. Since then, further pain relief stations have been created in order to offer Acupuncture and pain relief services to the most affected areas. A permanent clinic run by NPR and TUKI now operates in Charikot.

The clinic is currently staffed by volunteer Acupuncturists and ICOM graduates have travelled to Nepal to volunteer with Nepal Pain Relief and TUKI, taking with them suitcases packed full of donations from fellow colleagues and students. In Nepal they treated hundreds of patients over the course of six weeks.