The Space’s Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Emilie Salomons and The Pan African Acupuncture Project (PAAP) are looking to raise money for HIV, TB, Malaria education and treatment in Uganda this August 2008.

Donate individually or as a group.

What is PAAP?

PAAP is a non-profit NGO, which trains rural African healthcare workers in basic acupuncture for the treatment of common diseases like, HIV, Malaria and TB.

Fund Goal: $2500.00 by August 1st, 2008. *Donations are tax deductible

Donations go toward:

• Training 52 Ugandan healthcare workers in sustainable, affordable and effective methods to treat or manage symptoms of HIV, Malaria and TB

• Continuing medical supplies after training

* No funds go toward airfare.

Why Acupuncture?

Benefits of the program:

• Sustainability: Acupuncture programs cost a fraction of what an average western medical program costs making it possible to implement in rural areas without hospitals or laboratories. Supplies are also much less costly than pharmaceutical drugs, therefore much more reliable and consistent.

• Reaching rural communities: Once trained, the healthcare workers are able to go back to their existing community clinics and treat patients immediately. Acupuncture is not only used for every day treatments, it also becomes an important tool to supplement their practice during medication supply droughts.

• Bridging Tradition with the West: Many villagers still resist going to western medicine because of a lack of trust. Acupuncture has proven to be a way to bridge the two worlds and create a trust. Once in the clinic, the patients can be educated and tested for STD’s and other common diseases.

This program has been incredibly successful since starting 5 years ago. Seeing the success in Uganda, neighboring countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and Malawi have also started sister PAAP projects.

To make a donation please visit: http://www.givemeaning.com/project/paap

Emilie Salomons R.TCMP, ADS, Doula

Depression has affected people for thousands of years, but with today’s pace and increasing demands at work, school and home, this treatable disease is being diagnosed more and more frequently in western medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers another view and approach to managing stress and depression. Aside from the staples of current treatments like counseling, group support - whether friends, family, or peers - and medication if clinically necessary, TCM offers an additional set of diagnostic and treatment methodologies and a new way of looking at what is going on inside our complicated bodies and minds.

Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at the body, mind and spirit as one interconnected being. An imbalance in one organ can manifest or present itself through a change in mood, just as a strain to the emotions can affect the function of our vital organs. It might be helpful to think of the “butterflies” that flurry in your stomach and the sudden loss of appetite you feel when something makes you nervous.

So if everything is connected, what can we do to help lift our mood and ease our tension? Read Full Entry…

Spring is a time of new beginning, the birth of a new year. It is a time of growth and shedding. We shed the pounds we gained over winter and we clear our lives and homes of clutter. We rub our eyes and emerge from our hibernation with a new outlook on the world. Where winter was a time of hibernation and introspection, spring is a time to take that self-awareness and put it into action. Express yourself! Start something new.

Forget New Year as a time for resolutions, spring is the time to start fresh and try new things.Naturally in spring we begin to become more active, we sleep fewer hours, we tend to eat less than in winter and we start to shed our emotional baggage. Spring is a time of rapid changes, like a shoot bursting from a seed planted deep in the earth. This time can bring about a burst of energy and emotions, or these changes can be exhausting if we have not rested enough through the winter.

The organ related to spring in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the Liver. Emotions which may arise in spring and which are related to the liver are: frustration, agitation and anger. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you notice you are a little less patient than usual, to a certain extent, this is normal.

So what can we do to help this time of renewal and rejuvenation? Read Full Entry…