Acupuncture Relief Project

✨ Meet Sita Bakhrel ✨

Board Member, Coordinator & Clinician | Good Health Nepal

👉 Read the full story on the ARP News Blog:
https://www.acupuncturereliefproject.org/news-blog/336-from-student-to-leader

Sita Bakhrel first began working with Acupuncture Relief Project and Good Health Nepal in 2013 as a student at the Rural Health Education and Service Center (RHESC) in Kathmandu. Through early trainings, internships, and rural outreach camps, she developed a strong foundation in community-based, acupuncture-centered primary care.

What inspired Sita most was not only the clinical training, but the way care was delivered. “ARP/GHN taught me that care is more than treatment,” she shares. “It’s kindness, patience, listening, and dignity.”

Over the years, Sita’s role has grown alongside the organization. Today, she serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Good Health Nepal and works as Coordinator for Acupuncture Relief Project, supporting governance, administration, volunteer coordination, education, and clinical care. She is also completing a Master’s degree in Psychology while continuing to treat patients.

Through her work in rural clinics and free health camps, Sita has seen that healing is deeply relational. Many patients travel long distances not only for medicine, but for respect, hope, and understanding. “Primary care in Nepal is community work,” she says. “It’s about connection, education, and trust.”

We are excited to include Sita as part of our leadership team as we welcome her to the Board of Directors for Good Health Nepal and are grateful for her commitment to locally led, compassionate care.

✨ Butter Lamp Puja at Daman✨

Yesterday our ARP/GHN team traveled to Daman to honor 10 years of continuous service in Bajrabarahi: a decade of community partnership, rural primary care, and shared learning between local Nepali healthcare leaders and foreign visitors.

From Daman, a short hike took us to Rikheshwor Temple, a sacred hilltop shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Beside the temple is Chumik Changchup, a holy spring said to have emerged from Shiva’s grief and devotion. People come here seeking clarity and renewal, a fitting place to reflect on the work that has shaped us over the years.

At the temple, we offered a 108-butter-lamp puja, a traditional blessing for insight, protection, and the path ahead. Lighting lamps together felt like a quiet prayer for the decade to come: for our patients, our Nepali team, our volunteers, and the community that continues to welcome us with such generosity.

What made the day especially meaningful was being there together: our Nepali leadership, long-time staff, and current volunteers.

📸 Photos:
1 — Butter lamps beginning the puja
2 — Our littlest community member
3 — Sushila Waiba (senior interpreter) offering incense
4 — Andrew Schlabach (ARP president) & Satyamohan Dangol (GHN Clinic manager, acupuncturist) lighting lamps
5 — Andrew, volunteer Gemma Beck (acupuncturist, USA), Satyamohan & Sakali (“Didi,” our chef)
6 — Sanita Gopali (lead acupuncturist) & Sakali
7 — Sanita & volunteer Lindsay Drescher (acupuncturist, Canada)
8 — Sushila Gurung (GHN clinic director, acupuncturist), Satyamohan, and their daughter

Thank you to everyone, near and far, who has supported this work, not only in Bajrabarahi, but across 18 years in Nepal. Here’s to the decade behind us and to the one we are stepping into with clarity and open hands.

📸 Schlabach