The Judith Buckle Award 2024

Awarded to Kai Li

Kai was unable to accept the award in person so, Rachael presented the award to Kai’s former colleague Jan Mather, who accepted the award on his behalf.

The award presentation was delivered by Behçet’s UK Trustee, Rachael Humphreys at the 2024 Conference & AGM held at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Liverpool, on Saturday 19 October 2024.

On behalf of Behçet’s UK, I am honoured and privileged to announce that this year’s Judith Buckle Award Is awarded to Kai Li.

Unfortunately, Kai has been unwell recently and is unable to accept the award in person, but he has emailed us a response:

Firstly, I must apologise for not being at the AGM to receive the Judith Buckle Award. I’m a little unwell with Behçet’s at the moment.

When I was notified I was going to receive the award, I was most surprised, extremely honoured and a bit embarrassed. Embarrassed because I only added up a few numbers for the society.

Having said that, I think I’m one of the very few members who met Judith in person. It was in the late 80s when I began to attend the Behçet’s Syndrome Society AGM, where it used to be held at York General Hospital with an attendance of around 25 – 30 people. Speakers, patients, carers. With such a small group we always had a good chat.

It has been a privilege and an honour to witness and be part of the process of the transformation of the humble beginning of Behçet’s Syndrome Society to a professional organisation such as Behçet’s UK and the three Centres of Excellence is truly amazing.

Thank you Tony, the Chairman, and all the trustees, keep up the good work and thank you Judith.

It is clear from speaking to those who know Kai and from reading old Newsletters that he did far more than add up a few numbers!

Originally from Hong Kong, Kai moved to Oxford to study business studies and had many professional and personal successes. He met and married Christina and they had two children together, Gemma and Ben. Kai now enjoys spending time with his grandchildren. He is described as a wonderful family man, fun-loving, jovial and generous with his time.

Kai became a Trustee in 1999 and later Honorary Treasurer in 2004 for the then Behçet’s Syndrome Society. His expertise as a financial controller and business advisor provided a solid foundation and a safe pair of hands for the charities’ accounts. He was of the opinion that the charity shouldn’t spend money it didn’t have and that it should have a small reserve for those times when finances were tight. This remains true to this day.

Kai dedicated 10 years to the charity in official Trustee and Honorary Treasurer roles. But he didn’t narrow his role to accounts only. He was often seen attending conferences and seminars, meetings and events, spanning the whole of the UK come rain or snow! In 2002, using his own money, he attended the Second International Patients Convention in Berlin and in 2008 he attended an Anti-TNF seminar in Portsmouth. He also attended the Behçet’s Syndrome Society’s annual general meetings and conferences.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kai at my first conference, here in Liverpool many years ago. His smile, energy and ability to put people at ease was clear to see and he certainly made me feel most welcome as a new Trustee, with plenty of encouragement and wise words shared. He was keen to share what he had learnt from the conferences he attended as well as sharing his first-hand experience of living with Behçet’s.

Kai even went to his local school to give a presentation on Behçet’s disease and, as a result of what they heard, the school organised several fundraising events for the charity, raising £699. He was always keen to raise funds for the charity himself, raising thousands of pounds with different events, an ethic that I think has definitely been passed down to Trustees throughout the years.

Kai is described as being meticulous in his role as Honorary Treasurer with a thorough and comprehensive approach to his filing, documents and spreadsheets. Kai tried to step down but returned to help the Society with the accounts when Jan Mather was Chair, stabilising the financial future of the Society. When our Honorary Treasurer, Alan Lane, took over from Kai’s returning role, Kai very kindly continued to support Alan by dealing with the salaries and taxes until the end of the financial year.

Kai has had his fair share of challenges with Behçet’s Disease, undergoing many surgeries and trialling many aggressive therapies to manage his disease and symptoms. know that everyone here will be sending all their love and get-well wishes to Kai.

We hope this Award is a get-well hug and a reminder of how well respected and thought of Kai is by the Behçet’s community.