The beginning...

Between 1996 and 2002 the Whittle family lived in India, based in a very small hill station, Pachmarhi, in Central India. It was a beautiful area, not as hot as the plains and surrounded by unspoilt jungle. Home was half of an old English bungalow. The other half was used by the Headmaster of a junior school who ran his small school in the grounds in a few rather ramshackle sheds. Geoff and Cherrie Whittle were working with the charity Lifeforce, and their two sons were at school in south India.

The family were quickly - and willingly - involved in many of the school activities. Cherrie typed exam papers and helped with some of the classes while Geoff helped to repair and build some of the classrooms. In their school holidays the boys played football with the Pachmarhi children, Very soon it became evident that there were many students whose parents struggled to pay the fees. Because of their own lack of education, regular incomes for parents are often non existent. However, the parents were prepared make sacrifices because they believed that education, particularly English, would help to secure their childrens' future.The children were very willing to learn, happy to be there and always eager to participate in organised events.

The children are very endearing with their smiling faces and desire to learn. When visitors stayed with the Whittles in Pachmarhi, it seemed natural that they would help by giving something towards the school, and that was the start of the informal organisation - Patchwork Kids, the name evolving from the name of the village.

It began with individual sponsorship of the ever growing number of the children attended school. There was also money available from the Charity LifeForce which enabled the re-roofing and rebuild of some the school buildings, and Park School in Bournemouth donated sufficient funds for us to build a block of toilets. Pachmarhi school bagan to expand as children from surrounding villages who had no school of their own began to attend.

The birth of the charity

In order to continue to support the Pachmahri children and children in other countries, it seemed appropriate to formalise the situation and register Patchwork Kids as a charity. Our trustees have diverse backgrounds in education, travel and business. Cherrie Whittle and her son Ollie have brought their knowledge and enthusiasm back to the UK. Anna Jones worked with children in Uganda and initiated a similar scheme in a school there, Caroline Reeves has experience in fund raising.


Children are drawn from the poorest and most needy groups in Indian and African society

Current sponsors

At present we sponsor twenty-five children from Pachmarhi and nearby villages. Our sponsors have been connected with Pachmarhi, either as visitors to the charity base or as friends of the charity trustees. We have support from two schools who are both funding more than one student. Now that we are a registered charity, we would like to broaden our base of regular sponsors, as well as involving whole schools via classroom sponsorship, letter writing and fund raising.

How we work

95% of the money donated goes straight to the school. Their financial year starts in April so every March we transfer money to the school to cover fees for the whole year for each child we sponsor. £50 covers school fees, extra tuition, subject books, exercise books, uniform, shoes and stationery for one child for one whole year!


Although facilities may not immediately appear on a par with their Western counterparts, they provide vital resources and tuition that would otherwise be unavailable to these children.

What else we would like to fund

• Computers to teach basic IT skills, and for school administration. Costs for I.T. equipment are assessed on Indian prices so that it can be bought and maintained locally, giving reliable on-going trade to suppliers. The computers and various software packages cost up to £700.
• Science educational support material.
• Cash donations to support the maintenance and development of the school buildings.