Seeing Hands Nepal Charity

ABOUT SEEING HANDS NEPAL (SHN)

www.seeinghandsnepal.org

Seeing Hands Nepal is a new charitable organisation, providing massage training and employment support for the blind in Nepal.

In Nepal, at least 3 in every 100 people are either blind or visually impaired. Every five seconds a person goes blind in Nepal. The country shoulders one of the largest burdens of global blindness with at least 3% of the population either totally or partially blind. That figure is expected to increase by 20% per annum. Most face a desperate future, entirely dependent on others with limited or no opportunities for education or work. There are a number of reasons for the high prevalence of blindness in Nepal but poverty is by far the most common cause. With 25% of the population living in rural areas and below the poverty line, access to medical care and education is extremely limited.

WHAT WE DO

SHN are currently providing a comprehensive training course in remedial massage therapy for our first group of blind and visually impaired students in Pokhara. The course covers a range of related subjects from anatomy & physiology through to classical massage theory, and client care and will take two years to complete in full. All students must complete a series of braille and practical examinations before they can begin to work as masseurs.

HISTORY

SHN Project Founders Rob & Sue Ainley began researching this project's feasibility in 2003, following a visit to a Seeing Hands Massage Clinic in Cambodia; and the immediate realization that such an enterprise would be ideally suited for replication in Nepal. After wide-ranging research, preparation and fundraising initiatives, SHN's first massage training course officially began in temporary premises in April 2006. The provision of a permanent training and practice facility is now crucial to its future sustainability and the majority of fundraising efforts are now being directed towards this aim.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

For every Premier Standard Yoga Mat purchased, 10% of the price will be donated to the charity. For more details about the charity or how you can donate directly to the cause, please visit their website, www.seeinghandsnepal.org

If you would like to know how much we have raised for the charity, please feel free to contact us.