The Copeland Family Trust Fund
The Ann, Ciara & Niamh Copeland Trust Fund
Welcome to the website of the Copeland Family Charity.
This started out as a simple gesture of remembrance and tribute to my wonderful late wife and children. It has become one of the defining forces in my life, knowing that my continued existence has helped to provide such an indispensable benefit for so many disadvantaged people in a distant corner of our world.
We support the Koraput Centre, a leprosy treatment hospital run by the medical charity Lepra, situated in a remote mountainous area in the state of Odisha, eastern India. Our aim is to raise at least 50% of its running costs each year, although we often raise well in excess of that amount.
The various pages will tell you what the Koraput Centre is all about, how our involvement started, what's been happening recently and how you can help if you like what we do. I hope that you find this website to be honest and genuine, because those qualities are very important to us.
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 continuing to achieve the unbelievable!
Barry Copeland 13th July 2026
The Centre’s main aim remains to reach over 3,000 people affected by leprosy, both existing and new cases. Once again, this goal has been achieved; an astonishing feat given the total budget of just over £13,000!
The Centre continues to operate at full capacity and indeed at times beyond, given the budget available. Its annual targets for 2025/26 were much the same as for previous years and once again most of these targets were largely achieved or exceeded.
These achievements really illustrate just how essential the Centre continues to be, given how many people it has served over the last year for a whole range of different issues associated with leprosy. Koraput is in a remote, rural area of India and the Centre remains an amazing example of how many people can be helped with a relatively small amount of money, if invested properly. It is a perfect example of how effective small charities and overseas aid can be.
The annual Trustees Meeting isn’t scheduled until late July, so I proposed that an immediate donation of £8300 be made to LEPRA Health in Action, which happened in late May. At current exchange rates that sum equates to over 70% of the projected budget for this year, the biggest proportion that we have ever covered.
In just over 13 years of existence we have thus donated around £84,000 to Koraput
THANK YOU ALL!
This is just a taster of what has been going on in Koraput over the past 12 months. To read my full summary of the latest annual update from India and the actual report itself, please go to the Latest News From India page, or click on the link button below.
Success!
Barry Copeland 18th November 2025
Congratulations to Kate, Andrew
and Gavin for completing their epic
rides at the Poppyscotland East
Lothian Cycle Sportive in September.
Also a huge well done to Kate and
Andrew for their mighty fundraising
efforts, with well over £1500 having
been donated to the Copeland
Family Trust Fund.
They may have finished their journey
BUT it's never too late to DONATE to
our charity. Just click on this link!
Anything that you can give will be very gratefully received and it will go an awful long way.
If there is some event that you have always wanted to do, or a special challenge that you fancy, please give it a go and raise some money for us if you can. If you let me know what you are doing, I can easily set up a direct donation link for you and make your fundraising easier.
New Trustee Kate
& The East Lothian Cycle Sportive
Barry Copeland 20th July 2025
I am delighted to announce that one of my daughters' childhood friends has agreed to join our Board of Trustees. Indeed Niamh, Ciara, Kate and her brother made up the Arctic Adventurers Club, which used to meet in my shed in Johnshaven! It is so lovely to have one of their contemporaries on board.
These days Kate is based in Edinburgh and is just completing her PhD in Scottish Literature. She is also a keen cyclist and on Saturday 21st September Kate, her partner Andrew, plus numerous friends, are riding hard and fundraising for the Copeland Family Trust Fund at the Poppyscotland East Lothian Cycle Sportive.
They will be mounting their bikes at Prestonpans and cycling 102 miles. I hope that you think their efforts deserve your support. They have already paid their own entry fees and also made additional donations to Poppyscotland, the event organisers. Now they want to raise money for Koraput.
Final Update on Barry's "500km for £500" May 2024 Camino de Santiago Cycle
8th May 2024
320 miles / 515 km covered Total ascent 27,337 feet / 8,332 m Hours in saddle 33.5 Total funds raised £3,000
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!
Click on this link to see my daily routes
I may have finished my journey BUT it's not too late to DONATE to my charity. Just click on this link!
And so it ends. A final day in the saddle on a solo ride (Neil took the day off) up to the end of the Camino de Finisterre at Muxía and back in the blistering heat. Took the full bags in the end so no-one can say I cheated!
Will miss my trusty steed, able to go anywhere on it albeit not quickly. 320 miles of often rough going and not one mechanical issue, not even a puncture! Has been a great journey and I have got stronger as it has gone on, particularly on the off-road climbs.
Thanks to all who have sponsored me.
Over and out.
Barry
