Healing hands for victims of war

By Linda Serck
BBC Berkshire reporter

Figures suggest the Bosnian War killed more than 100,000 people

Jayne Doyle is a massage therapist from Reading, but will be leaving her comfort zone to help victims of war in Bosnia.

Out in Sarajevo she will be offering massage, Reflexology and Reiki treatments to civilians tortured in concentration camps or injured by war.

"If I can make a difference to just one person, to ease their pain, then I will be happy," she says.

Jayne heads out in April 2010 and is holding a charity event to raise £750.

'My mother escaped Nazi Germany'

The people who were in concentration camps were beaten and the women were raped, sometimes every day for months Jayne Doyle

For Jayne, her strong desire to try and help victims of war holds a personal family significance.

"This passion is a direct result of my family and their experiences in Word War II," she tells BBC Berkshire.

"My mother was born in Berlin in 1931, a German Jew. In June 1939, she was brought out of the country and to England when she was eight-years-old."

Her mother was in fact one of the last 16 children allowed out of Germany, helped by philanthropist John Benjamin Sainsbury, son of the supermarket founder.

"The rest of her family stayed in Germany and their lives were bought to a tragic end in the concentration camps."

Healing Hands

Jane Doyle has been practising complementary therapy for 12 years

Jayne is travelling to Sarajevo with other complementary therapists for a two-week tour of duty with British charity Healing Hands Network.

The first Healing Hands therapists went to Sarajevo in 1995, and the charity was formed in 1996. Since then they have carried out nearly 35,000 treatments.

The therapists work in a rented house in Sarajevo, which has two fully equipped treatment rooms, and also in three villages where they use rooms loaned by local businesses free of charge.

Their clients are referred by the Association of Concentration Camp Victims, the Association of Civil Victims of War and the Centre for Torture Victims.

"Civilians often have no choice as to whether they wish to get involved with war or not," says Jayne, "but they are still dragged into it and as a result their lives are torn apart and shattered.

"The people who were in concentration camps were beaten and the women were raped, sometimes every day for months.

"The civil victims suffered from landmine injuries or from sniper attacks or shells.

"Many people lost their homes and loved ones, including the women from Srebrenica where 7500 men were taken away and killed."

How the treatments can help

Jayne will be helping civilians injured during the Bosnian War

Jayne and the other therapists offer the complementary treatments to bring relief to the physical pain by improving blood flow, nerve supply, boosting the immune system, releasing tension from muscles and allowing joints to move more freely.

"As the person relaxes and breathes deeply, this will begin to help with the emotional scars and wounds, giving them a few moments of peace and calm, an escape from memories or fearful thoughts," says Jayne.

"We all know sleep is healing, the same can be experienced through the calm and peace you feel during a massage or Reiki treatment."

The therapists don't ask the people any questions about their experiences, although if the treatments make them feel more comfortable they could begin to talk about what happened to them.

Other Healing Hands Network therapists say this has already happened a few times this year.

Jayne says: "We know how it feels to bottle something up. As soon as we have said it out loud to a friend it becomes less intense and we can begin to process it."

Jayne's charity event

On Saturday 6 February 2010 Jayne will be offering complementary therapies at RISC, London Street, Reading from 10.00 to 16.00.

Clients can experience a taster session in a range of therapies including: massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, Indian head massage, healing, Reiki, Bowen, mind detox, Thai yoga massage, homeopathy, acupuncture and many more for a minimum of £5 donation.

Jayne needs to raise £750 needed to make the trip possible.