Striving towards and actively assisting in the financial stability, educational fulfillment, physical wellbeing and cultural enrichment of the rural communities in Haryana.

May 2010

Proving that being out of the country on the day of the Buwan Kothi Challenge is no excuse for not helping to raise funds for BKIT, Pippa Ungar is planning to cycle up Mont Ventoux, whose summit (right) stands 1912 metres or a vertical mile above the Provence countryside in France.

The 21km climb up the 'windy mountain' is one of the most gruelling climbs in the Tour de France.

To sponsor her efforts, visit Pippa's online fundraising page here.

May 2010

The Buwan Kothi Challenge 2010 sponsored cycle ride to raise funds for BKIT will take place on

Sunday 25 July 2010

This is the fourth ride we have organised and this year the route covers a 50-mile cicruit through the Warwickshire countryside, starting and finishing in Leamington Spa.

For more information, click here.

February 2010

Sunday 7th February saw the return of Leamington BKIT Kick it Out team in a historically significant game against Pottertons Old Boys. played at Henley in Arden College.

This was the first time in more than ten years that the famous Pottertons name had been used in a football context and it saw the return of some great players and characters from its illustrious past.

Indeed many of the BKIT side have also played for Pottertons in its past which gave the fixture a “family” reunion feel.

Led by Roy Evans and Terry Dyer the Pottertons team reformed specially to help raise funds for the Buwan Kothi International Trust and to fight discrimination and intolerance in sport.

The game proved to be equal to the occasion with both sides showing that the years have been kind regarding fitness levels.

The game raised £350 for the charity and former Mayor and trustee of BKIT Mota Singh expressed his gratitude and thanks to both teams for their involvement.

He explained: “Today has been a great success and I would like to thank all involved in organising this game for their hard work.

"We are also pleased to see Pottertons reforming especially for this event and if they continue as a team then this fits with the charity's ethos of empowering the local community to work together for good causes.”

November 2009

The Buwan Kothi International Trust has launched a charity football team to help raise money and the team got off to a winning start at the end of November.

The team was set up by some of the players who played in a charity game against Luther Blissett’s celebrity team in August to raise funds for the charity.

The squad is made up of players representing the diverse communities of Leamington Spa and surrounding areas. All squad members are passionate about the trust as well as football and saw the team as an ideal way to raise funds and continue to raise the profile of BKIT and Kick It Out.

Following initial meetings all the players committed to playing in the team. The aim of the team is to play a number of games throughout the year.

The first game was played on Sunday 22nd November at Warwickshire College, Henley-in-Arden. The college has given its commitment to the team by allowing the college ground to be the regular fixture for home games.

The opponents were the Leamington Khalsa Old Boys team. The weather held up in the first half and the two teams were evenly matched. However during the second half the heavens opened and it ended on a rain sodden pitch with the players covered in mud. The final score was 5-3 in BKIT’s favour.

The match raised £260 for the charity which was a fantastic achievement for a first game. Future fixtures include games against Leamington Hibs, Wolverhampton All Stars and a possible rematch against Luther Blissett’s celebrity team in the New Year.

August 2009

On Sunday 9 August and with the return of glorious sunshine, Luther Blissett's 'Celebrity United' football team came to Leamington FC's New Windmill Ground to play 'Leamington United for BKIT', a local team representing the diverse communities of Leamington Spa and surrounding areas.

Luther's celebrities proved too much for the pride of Leamington Spa, who were resoundly beaten 5-1, with four goals by So Solid Crew's MC Harvey. The consolation goal for the home side came courtesy of Gurpreet Dosanjh.

Many thanks to everyone from Leamington FC for making us so welcome and to Kick It Out , whose tremendous support made the match possible.

Pictures from the day are also available online here

July 2009

The Trust congratulates all the riders who took part in this year's Buwan Kothi Challenge cycle ride on 19 July.

Defying the occasional shower, cyclists from Leamington Spa and across the West Midlands were joined by friends from London to ride either 25 or 50 miles to raise funds for the Buwan Kothi International Trust.

Pictures from the day are available online here

July 2009

On Sunday 9th August, a charity match will take place between a local side Leamington United for BKIT and a celebrity team organised by Luther Blissett, the former Watford and AC Milan striker who was one of the first black footballers to play for England.

Leamington United for BKIT is a multicultural team football team representing the diverse communities of Leamington Spa and surrounding areas. The Mayor of the town will be amongst the honoured guests and proceeds form the match will be donated to the Buwan Kothi International Trust.

Sunday 9th August 2009
2pm to 6pm

Leamington FC
New Windmill Ground
Harbury Lane
Leamington Spa
Warwickshire
CV33 9JR

This event is supported by Kick It Out.

July 2009

The Buwan Kothi International Trust welcomes donations from supporters wherever they live and to help overseas donors, we have produced a factsheet explaining how to donate using a credit card, PayPal or international wire transfer.

Download a copy of the factsheet here [ PDF, 105 kB]

July 2009

More than fifty riders have signed up to to participate in the Buwan Kothi Challenge 2009 sponsored cycle ride, which takes place on Sunday 19th July to raise funds for the Buwan Kothi International Trust.

It is not too late to take part in riding one of two distances - either 25 miles for inexperienced cyclists or 50 miles for the more ambitious. Both routes start and finish in Leamington Spa.

To enter the ride, download a registration form here [ Word, 155 kB] and send the completed form to us by e-mail as soon as possible.

April 2009

The Trust is deeply saddened by news of the death of Dr James Partridge on 17 April 2009.

James was one of the founding trustees of the Buwan Kothi International Trust. He had also served as a Warwickshire County Councillor and had been a member of the board of the National Children's Bureau. James was a retired paediatrician who spent 40 years treating sick children, rejecting private practice because he believed passionately in the egalitarian principles of the National Health Service. These views were reaffirmed in an article in the Guardian where James spoke about his illness. It was published the day after he died.

James had also been the Warwickshire representative of the Botanical Society of the British Isles and plants were undoubtedly an obsession. Many of us will remember him striding through the fields surrounding Buwan Kothi in Haryana in 2005, collecting and identifying samples of grass. Several species had never been formally identified before.

Our thoughts are with his wife Mary, his son Ben and his daughters Emily and Sarah.

On 26 April, Trustees agreed to rename our Assisted Places Scheme, which is funded by standing order donations from the our supporters in the UK.

It becomes the Dr James Partridge Fund in James' memory and will subsidise free places for those who would otherwise be unable to attend the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School.

April 2009

New photographs from the recent trip by trustees to the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School, for the celebrations of the school's first anniversary, are now available online. These include:

New pictures of the school buildings.

Celebrations by pupils on 17 March of the school's first anniversary.

Photos of the Kabbadi tournament organised to mark the school's first full year.

For more pictures of our work in India and our fundraising activities in the UK, visit the BKIT Photo Blog.

February 2009

“The weather in England is nothing compared to the weather in India. We have rain, rain and rain and sometimes once a year we have snow!” Days after the heaviest snowfall in southern England in more than a decade, over 40 children aged nine and ten years old at Estcots Primary School in East Grinstead, West Sussex, were busy writing letters to their counterparts at the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School in Haryana – and it was clear that the subject of the weather was close to their minds!

The letters, along with photos of the town, were taken out to India by BKIT Trustees in late February, as part of the Trust’s efforts to build closer links between our major project in Lehrian and schools in the UK. We hope that by April, the children at Estcots will have received replies and that this will be the first step towards further contact between the two schools. The development of similar links is currently underway at Weston Park school in north London.

We would like to thank the pupils of Year 5 at Estcots Primary School and their teachers for all of their hard work.

February 2009

Over 230 people attended a gala dinner at the Town Hall in Royal Leamington Spa on 21 February, held to raise funds for the Buwan Kothi International Trust. Leamington District Councillor Mota Singh, who is one of BKIT’s trustees, welcomed honoured guests including Consul V V Narayanan, representing the Consulate General of India in Birmingham, the local Member of Parliament James Plaskitt and the Mayor of Royal Leamington Spa, Cllr Kailash Chander. The evening raised over £3500 towards the Trust’s work.

The Trust would like to thank everyone who attended, the many individuals and local businesses who donated raffle prizes, Kick It Out for their donation of a signed Liverpool FC shirt for auction and the Lady Mayoress, Vinod Chander, for the generosity of her winning bid.

January 2009

The Buwan Kothi Challenge 2009 sponsored cycle ride to raise funds for BKIT will take place on

Sunday 19 July 2009

This is the third ride we have organised and this year there are two distances - 25 miles for inexperienced cyclists and 50 miles for the more ambitious.

Both routes start and finish in Leamington Spa. The 25=mile circuit passes Warwick Castle, over the M40 to Charlecote, Wellesbourne, Lighthorne, passing Chesterton Windmill and on to Harbury and then to Whitnash. The countryside in Warwickshire is beautiful and the route follows quiet public roads and bridleways.

For the first time, we are asking supporters who are planning to ride, or are able to help out on the day, to register in advance so we have a clearer idea of who will be taking part.

You can download a registration form here [ Word, 155 kB]. Please complete and return the form by e-mail or by post to

Buwan Kothi International Trust
PO Box 51077
London
E7 7AL

January 2009

You can find new photos on the BKIT Photo Blog from the visit in October 2008 by BKIT Trustees Debbie Quargnolo and Stephanie Carney, to Buwan Kothi and the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School.

These include the children from the school participating in celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the Guru Grant Sahib, any opportunity for some to try out the digital cameras donated by Buwan Kothi International Trust supporters in the UK.

December 2008

The Trust has launched a new YouTube channel with video clips about our work.

For more information and to subscribe, visit:

The Buwan Kothi Channel

December 2008

From 1st December 2008, the new postal address for the Buwan Kothi International Trust changes to:

Buwan Kothi International Trust
PO Box 51077
London
E7 7AL

If you are corresponding with the Trust, please can you make sure that you use this new address. Our registered charity address remains unchanged.

More news from the Buwan Kothi International Trust in 2008