The hands & hearts
behind every session.

Seeing Hands Nepal employs blind and visually impaired individuals exclusively, not as a compromise, but as a deliberate commitment to both excellence and impact. Our therapists don’t just work here. They built this.

Every member of our team holds a qualification recognized by the ISRM, a recognized institute for sports and remedial massage therapists across the UK. They bring years of hands-on experience and a personal investment in the success of every single guest.

✦  Our Team

Meet the therapists
behind the touch.

Bhima Chhetri
Bhima Chhetri Therapist
Thank you to Seeing Hands for the opportunity to help people and become an independent entrepreneur.

Bhima heard about Seeing Hands from her friend but applied for the role on her own accord. Before she came to Seeing Hands, she was studying in university for a degree, something she describes as a simple life. After joining as a therapist, she feels that she has much more autonomy and purpose. She is also very happy to help people through her massages.

Ganga Karki Doli
Ganga Karki Doli Therapist
I am happy when I am able to provide a service to people to make them feel good.

Ganga was a university student when he was introduced to the clinic by a friend and was selected for admission. He comes from a very poor family background and faced financial constraints during his time in university. Now, he is very happy and proud that he manages to earn money by himself and is able to do everything that he wants and needs. He dedicates himself to giving the best massage while constantly learning and improving himself.

Jimawati Lamkoliya
Jimawati Lamkoliya Therapist
In the future, I want to progress even further and achieve greater things.

Jima was recommended by a friend, who knew Seeing Hands had a vacancy. Previously she was studying for her university degree. After joining as a therapist, she is able to provide for her family. She is happy when her customers are happy with the massage. She is also very grateful for the Seeing Hands team for helping her lead an independent life.

Junu Shrestha
Junu Shrestha Therapist
My parents are very happy that I am a therapist with Seeing Hands.

Junu is very thankful for Seeing Hands for helping her with earning an income and leading an independent life. She also values the opportunity that is given to her as the visually impaired. She likes to help people through her massages and is very happy when they leave the clinic feeling better than before.

Kamal Singh
Kamal Singh Therapist
I Feel lucky to be a part of Seeing Hands Family and I hope this clinic continue to grow.

Kamal was introduced to Seeing Hands by a friend, before that he was working as a musician, he played octopad during events but what he earned was insufficient. Later, he joined Seeing Hands which was a tough task in the beginning because he had no idea about massage. He gradually learned during the training process and became a therapist. Now, he is economically stable and happy. Also one of the best part of Seeing Hands is that he get to meet people from different countries with different cultures.”

Lalu Maya Bhujel
Lalu Maya Bhujel Therapist
I hope to have more opportunities to go for training programmes to upgrade myself and help positively impact the visually impaired community.

Lalu wanted to do something different other than teaching and prove that the visually impaired can do more than teach. After finishing her high school, she  trained to be a therapist and that helped her to become financially independent and provide for her family. She values the opportunity to meet people with interesting stories from different cultures. She also hopes that Seeing Hands will continue to do well.

Laxmi Adhikari
Laxmi Adhikari Therapist
Massage is a very suitable job for the visually impaired because we are able to do it ourselves.
Lila Tamang
Lila Tamang HouseKeeper
Seeing Hands is like my own home

Lila was introduced to Seeing Hands by a recruiter, and was not aware that it was a blind massage clinic. She was surprised when she first saw the therapists but eventually became very comfortable. As the Housekeeper, she maintains and upholds the cleanliness and hygiene of the Seeing Hands clinics. She wishes even better luck for Seeing Hands and hopes to work here for as long as she can.”

Ramji Poudel
Ramji Poudel Therapist
The progress I have made for 13 years is because of Seeing Hands. It did not just teach me to be a professional therapist but also made me a better hu

Ramji was looking for an alternative for teaching after completing his university degree. Coincedentally, the British couple who started Seeing Hands went to his university and introduced Seeing Hands to Ramji, and he felt that the role of being a therapist allows him to be independent and support his family. He dedicates his development to Seeing Hands and feels as though he is travelling the world when meets customers from all over the world.

Saroj Bhattarai
Saroj Bhattarai Therapist
Blind massage is a very new concept in Nepal, and while education has increased the general public awareness, I am still very thankful to the customers for being open-minded, and I am very grateful to

Saroj saw that Seeing Hands had a vacancy in 2018 and applied to be a therapist. Saroj feels joy in meeting different customers that share with him different stories and experiences. This helps to make his journey at Seeing Hands colourful and interesting.

Sumit Lama
Sumit Lama Therapist
I am very thankful to be a part of the Seeing Hands family and I hope to see the clinic do well.

Sumit learnt of Seeing Hands from a friend who found out about the clinic through Google. After being selected from the interview, he began training after completing his university education. He is thankful to be able to learn a skill and earn a living for himself while saving up some money. He is very happy that he is able to heal someone of their pain using his massages.

Sunita Chapagain
Sunita Chapagain Therapist
Thank you Seeing Hands for the golden opportunity. It truly feels like a family here and I treasure that dearly.

Sunita was struggling to find a job after graduating from university. Through Bhima’s introduction, she got to know of Seeing Hands and applied to be a therapist. She is very happy that she can make her parents proud by earning her own income and living an independent life. She is also very proud that she can be a role model in her society.

✦  Our Manager

The bridge
between mission and market.

Seeing Hands Nepal is a Nepali-led social enterprise, independently directed and operated by blind people. At the helm is Manager Ashutosh Shilpakar, who brings years of experience in Nepal’s tourism and hospitality sector. He balances the enterprise’s social mission with business sustainability, drawing on his deep understanding of the local tourism economy.

For Ashutosh, the role goes beyond management — it’s a personal commitment to delivering service that is both authentically Nepali and internationally professional. His greatest pride is maintaining a stable, empowering workplace where blind and visually impaired staff are not just employed, but genuinely supported to build meaningful careers.

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Ashutosh Shilpakar

✦  Manager

Ashutosh was in a 6- months long job search before a friend introduced him to Seeing Hands. He was interviewed and hired as an accountant before being promoted to an assistant manager — gradually taking on everything from buying groceries to coordinating with therapists and running the organization’s social media.
He knew Seeing Hands was a blind massage clinic when he joined, but that came with its own uncertainty — he simply didn’t know how to interact with visually impaired people. What if he said or did the wrong thing? Over time, though, that anxiety faded. He stopped overthinking and simply started treating his colleagues the way he would anyone else.
Today, Ashu hopes to see Seeing Hands grow — new clinics, maybe even an international presence — so that more visually impaired people can find not just a job, but a place where they belong.

✦  Our Advisors

The expertise
behind our standards.

Our advisors bring deep knowledge of the international massage therapy industry, the ISRM certification pathway, and the unique challenges of running a social enterprise in Nepal’s tourism economy.

ISRM

London Certified Link

2005

Advising Since Founded

Luna Shrestha Thakur

Luna Shrestha Thakur

✦  Advisor

Luna Shrestha Thakur is founding director of Change Fusion Nepal which is a pioneer organization on establishing Social Entrepreneurship in Nepal. She led the Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award for three years which awarded 5 different social enterprises every year from 2011 to 2013. SInce 2012, she has been supporting Seeing Hands Nepal as an advisor, friend, mentor on doing different works like establishing connections, establishing new clinics, establishing systems in the organization.

She also worked as Country Director for Spring Accelerator which helped 11 businesses in Nepal that impacted adolescent girls.

sue

sue Ainley

Founder

Sue is a highly experienced Director of Marketing and Strategy, with a strong background in developing new businesses and building brands across the healthcare and charity sectors. She established the Seeing Hands brand in 2005 and registered the organisation as a UK charity, securing funding and legal registrations, recruiting a network of trustees, volunteers and strategic partners, and managing the administration, accounts and donor reporting needed to support its early development. Sue also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Nepali and is PRINCE2 trained in project management. Her work to raise funds, build partnerships and establish the structures behind Seeing Hands was integral to giving the organisation the support it needed to grow into a completely self-sustaining social enterprise.

rob

Rob Ainley

Founder

Rob is a highly skilled and experienced therapist with a broad background in osteopathy, physiotherapy, shiatsu therapy and sports and remedial massage. He founded Seeing Hands Nepal in 2005 and developed and accredited the Seeing Hands training course, with special adaptation for blind learners. Over the following decade, he delivered hands-on training for several student cohorts, supported by volunteer therapists, many from the London School of Sports Massage, including ISRM founder Mel Cash. Drawing on more than three decades of experience managing a large therapy centre in the UK, Rob’s knowledge of the successful and professional delivery of massage services was integral to building Seeing Hands Nepal into a high-quality service that continues to maintain those standards today.

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