The Copeland Family Trust Fund
The Ann, Ciara & Niamh Copeland Trust Fund
Welcome to the website of the Copeland Family Charity.
We help to support the Koraput Centre, a leprosy treatment hospital run by the medical charity Lepra, situated in a remote and impoverished mountainous area in the state of Odisha, eastern India. Our aim is to raise at least £5,000 each year towards its running costs, although most years we raise well in excess of that amount.
This website will give you an honest and straight forward account of what we do, why we do it, what's been happening recently and how you can help if you think what we do is worthwhile.
Just so you know, we are an official charity recognised by the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR), registration number SC04368. We are also accepted as a charity for tax purposes by HMRC and are thus eligible to receive Gift Aid.
Thanks for your visit
Barry Copeland
Koraput Care Centre working at full capacity again
Barry Copeland September 17th 2023
The general situation in India has improved greatly since the last report 12 months ago, thanks in part to Covid19 no longer causing disruptions and difficulties. Autumn 2022 also represented the one-year anniversary since the Koraput Care Centre
re-opened: its services are now very much re-established and functioning effectively, providing access to vital healthcare for local people affected by Leprosy and Lymphatic Filariasis.
The Centre is now operating at full capacity. Its annual targets largely doubled those of the previous year, when it was only open for 6 months, and in general the numbers treated have done the same, as logically one would expect. Thus 498 people attended the Out-Patient Department in this period, whilst total In-Patient Admissions numbered 185.
These numbers really emphasise just how essential the Centre is, given how many people it has served over the last year for
a whole range of different issues associated with leprosy. This is especially true given that Koraput is in a remote and underdeveloped rural area of India. It is also an amazing example of how many people can be helped with a relatively small amount of money, if invested properly.
This is where all our money goes!
Barry Copeland August 3rd 2022
Following World Leprosy Day 2022 in January, Lepra India released a 60 minute livestream video walk-through of the Koraput Centre . This has now been edited into a 15 minute summary, with subtitles, which can be seen by clicking on the button below.
Koraput reopens to Patients!
Barry Copeland November 4th 2021
Lepra's planned activities for the area in 2021/22 were to reach over 3,000 people affected by leprosy, both existing and new cases, through outreach activities and care in the community. Despite the COVID-19 related lockdowns and temporary closures of the government health centres to non-urgent care, during the first six months over 1,325 people affected by leprosy have already been reached and supported.
However they are also delighted to report that as the pandemic eased and the demand for services for people affected by leprosy in Koraput District regained momentum, the Koraput Centre re-opened to out-patients at the beginning of September 2021. Patients are now visiting the Centre for services such as management of nerve function impairments (NFI) and reactions, ulcer dressings, physiotherapy, and training in ulcer care.
Even better, the re-opening of the in-patient department (IPD) followed shortly after on 2nd October 2021. The ward currently has five beds to accommodate patients who require ulcer care and reaction management over short term stays (up to 10 days). In due course, people undergoing reconstructive surgery will also be received for pre- and post-operative surgical care which will require longer stays of one month or more. The target for the remainder of 2021/22 is to receive a total of 82 in-patients at the Centre. In 2022/23, the intention is for the facility to increase to 20 beds at 80% occupancy rate in order to provide physiotherapy support for 96 patients undergoing reconstructive surgery per year, plus 60 patients with complex ulcers / reactions.
Update on Barry's "1,000 Miles October Cycle Fest".
THE FINAL FIGURES!
20th January 2021
Miles covered 1177.33 Ascent 100,499 feet Hours in saddle 87.97
Average speed 13.38mph Total funds raised £3,117.83
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!
Click on this link to see his routes
The specific online donation site for this particular fundraising endeavour was closed down at the end of November 2020
BUT it's never too late to DONATE to our charity.
Just click on this link!
Barry is Cycling "1,000 Miles for £1,000" in October
1st October 2020
Today sees me setting off on my first ride, in my bid to plug our funding gap by cycling 1,000 miles during October and hopefully generating at least £1,000 of sponsorship in the process. I will be paying any expenses I incur and every single penny I raise will go to Koraput. I'm getting my backside off the couch and onto my bike seat in the hope that you will put up some money as a result!
The ever changing Covid19 Restrictions have made a grand journey an unfeasible project. Instead I shall be riding mostly in Devon and Cornwall, sticking to day trips and if possible the occasional short local tour. That is no easy option, but instead will set me up nicely for my secondary goal of climbing 100,000 feet at the same time.
You can follow my progress above in "The Journey So Far", which will be updated on a regular basis. Alternatively I will be posting my daily rides on both my Facebook page and my Strava account.
Your support and interest is greatly appreciated.
Take care and best wishes.
Barry