We would like to take a moment to thank you for your contributions and interest in the African Touch Education Fund Society. Without your help, the African Touch project in Uganda would not have been the success it was. You donated your time, expertise, prayers, items for silent auctions, web support, teaching materials, teaching location, logistical support, learning tools (charts and skeletons), funding and so much more. This project would not have been possible without all of your support. The African Touch Graduation Class of 2011 also directly send their gratitude and appreciation for all that you have done to help them improve their lives and employment prospects.
having difficulty with their studies excelled in both the practical skills, as well as the academics. The program was not designed to be a simple course, requiring students be commitment and dedicated to their studies in order to achieve a passing grade. One student even stated she felt she had attended medical school, and all the students were very excited about the in depth nature of the course. We are very pleased to let you know that all twelve students graduated. On behalf of African touch and all of its supporters, we send out a huge congratulations to the students for their hard work and success!
As many of you know, the process of setting up the school location, getting supplies and finding students was not without its challenged. For the first three weeks of the outreach portion of the program, we even had difficulty finding individuals from the surrounding area who wanted to come and receive free massage treatments. However, as soon as the success stories began to become known, we had line-ups of people wanting to receive treatment, requiring us to open up additional clinic days. We also branched out and students had the opportunity to massage and receive feedback from massage therapists at 3 prestigious locations in Kampala. Two students even set-up a massage table associated with the Sheraton booth at the Kampala Marathon. Student feedback included the outreach portion was definitely among program strengths and we would like to thank those at the Spa at Sheraton, the Maisha Spa at Hotel Serena, and The Spa located in the Emin Pasha Hotel for adding to this experience.
The African Touch class gave out hundreds of free relaxation massage and performed progressive case studies on thirty five people, all of whom suffered from pain and dysfunction. A few of many client success stories include: progressing from not being able to walk, to being able to run; being able to return to work after having to stay at home due to low back pain and dysfunction; and a nine year old girl is now living free of scoliosis (a crooked spine) and the resulting difficulties that can result from this condition. The class consistently and effectively treated people with headaches, shoulder pain, rib pain, back pain, sciatic pain and much more with a high rate of success. On a personal note, Curt has had pain on the bottom of both feet for about 6 years and after consistent treatment from the students, he is very pleased to no longer have pain in either foot to this day.
When we left Uganda, employment prospects for all the students were looking very good. Marian and Sarah had found a great location in a hotel and were working to start their own business. Aisha, Lidia, Milly and Stella were planning to work in hotels in the local area. Vicky was working towards bringing massage into tourism working with a tour company. Memory had started working in an established sauna and steam business centred around a party rental space. Sylvia was doing mobile massage in peoples homes. Edgar had started working out of the Wentz Medical Center. Tonny had a job prospect at the Nsambia General Clinic working in the physiotherapy department. And the final student, Fredrick had a job offer in a Spa in Entebbe. This job would require he relocate to Entebbe, which is about 1hour and 15 minutes from his residence, so he was still on the hunt looking to work towards his long term goal to bring his skill set into sport. We shall see what he and some the other students decide, and how their careers progress and we will be sure to keep you updated as well. On another exciting front, we are also succeeding in our effort to support families, with one student having had a baby at the end of the program and 2 students currently pregnant!
Due to the success of the African Touch 2011 project, the lives of many people have been changed. We will no doubt have very little difficulty finding students when we return to Uganda, as we have had many requests already. We have also been asked to run massage training programs in Tanzania and Rwanda. For now, the Chambers family have moved back to Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada and Curt has returned to work providing massage treatments at Okanagan Health and Performance. The board of the African Touch Education Fund Society will continue to work hard to prepare, gather more education supplies, organize volunteer opportunities and raise funds to run further programs in Africa. We are also in the process of becoming a Ugandan NGO. When we return to Uganda, we plan to involve interested 2011 graduates to teach in future African Touch projects, working towards our goal of having the training Ugandan run and self sustaining in the future.
Thank you once again to all involved and to those who may wish to become more involved in our organization in the future. We hope you had a fabulous holiday season with friends and family, and wish you all the best in 2012!
