Allyndreth Stead

To be chosen as a member of the Acupuncture Relief Project is a significant milestone on my path in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

My journey has been a circuitous one, influenced by three significant threads of my life. My career as a Respiratory Care Practitioner was spent caring for neonatal and pediatric patients in intensive care. This experience taught me much about the great need for basic family health care, and inspired me to seek an education in holistic medicine with the goal of promoting family health. The work I performed as a program officer for a progressive public charity, dedicated to funding innovative programs, gave me insight into creative and down to earth ways of facilitating community transformation.  And thirdly, spiritual training in the Buddhist tradition has allowed compassion to blossom into active practice.  I see the Acupuncture Relief Project as a marvellous melding of these three currents of my life and as an opening to a much broader way of providing health care and of living.

Thank you for your interest and kind support.

Heidi Stoeckl

This program allows me to combine the two passions of my life together: the continuous interest in the art of helping others and my enthusiasm for travel.  My curiosity for adventure led me through a degree in Cultural Anthropology and extensive travels around the world, including Nepal.  My passion for medicine led me to complete a master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

I have always had a wish that somehow I could improve the circumstances of others but felt at a loss of how to help, besides dispensing the limited contents of my personal first aid kit to those that I encountered along the way.  Now I’m returning to Nepal armed with a fantastic tool, the knowledge and skills of Oriental Medicine, to aid those in need!   This program allows me to give back something to people who give so much of themselves.  The world is filled with the culture, philosophy, and traditions of the Nepali spirit from clothing and art to Buddhist humanity. 

This journey will be a learning opportunity of exponential growth. I am ecstatic, to say the least, about the prospects.

Thank you so much for your time and the opportunity for us to help and give back to the people of Nepal.

Jennie King

I am originally from Ohio, where its flat landscape inspires lots of traveling.  Growing up, I was also exposed to the beauty of sharing cultures because my family hosted several foreign exchange students.  I hold a B.A. in Women’s Studies from the Ohio State University.  Since college, I have dreamed of working and living in another country, but the right opportunity had not yet appeared.   Now, as I graduate from Oregon College of Oriental Medicine I can fulfill that dream and apply the knowledge I have been blessed with.    

I have lived in Oregon for over a decade and have been a massage therapist for most of that time.  I love working with people, and feel like the work that I do makes a positive impact on the world one person at a time.   As each of us feel better in our bodies we can go back into our community with more energy.  Adding Chinese medicine to my tool bag has opened up a whole other avenue of healing that I look forward to sharing.  Other interests that I have are yoga, qigong, dancing and reading.  I love learning new things and intend to be a lifelong student.

I am so excited and honored to be able to be a part of the project. I have never been to Nepal and cannot wait to meet the people and see how they live their lives in that part of the world. 

Admin note: Jennie is now practicing at Red Bird Healing Arts in Portland Oregon.

Nikole Maxey

It is hard to put my excitement into words as I anticipate being a part of the Acupuncture Relief Project. In 2001, when I joined the Peace Corps, I was originally going to Nepal. A few months before I was scheduled to leave, the program was cancelled and I went to the Ivory Coast instead. While I worked in West Africa as an environmental volunteer my thoughts were consumed not only by the environmental work I was doing, but by a desire to help the people in my village with the various health issues that affected them every day. After three and a half years studying Chinese Medicine, I am grateful for the opportunity to finally make my way to Nepal and practice Acupuncture. What excites me the most about this medicine is its simplicity: with some needles, herbs, moxa, and cups we can treat patients anywhere in the world.

I would like to thank all my friends and family for their support and encouragement as I journey to Nepal.

Admin note: Nikole is now practicing at Denver Community Acupuncture in Denver Colorado.