Last week was an extremely busy one in Kolkata, with a whole host of important visitors from Ireland and the UK!
Jeremy and Sam Irons
Long-time HOPE Patron Jeremy Irons visited Kolkata for the first time last week to see first-hand the important work that we are doing there.
Travelling with his son Sam, the Oscar winning actor visited HOPE projects including HOPE Hospital and Life-skills Centre and accompanied the Night Watch team on their rounds.
Jeremy also attended our 20th Annual Foundation Day celebrations.
We were so happy to welcome Jeremy and Sam to Kolkata and we’d like to sincerely thank them both for their support.
Specsavers
A 10-strong team from Specsavers Ireland, accompanied by Specsavers Ambassaor Darren Kennedy, travelled to Kolkata to carry out life-changing pop-up eye clinics in some of the city’s poorest communities, where this special eye treatment would otherwise be unavailable. This was Specsavers third mission to the city.
The team worked day and night to maximise the number of people impacted by their time there: they tested over 1500 people and dispensed over 1150 pairs of glasses.
Specsavers presented The Hope Foundation with a cheque for €100,000 to fund the eye clinic at HOPE Hospital for another year and to cover much needed new equipment.
Now, the world is literally a brighter place for hundreds of adults and children because of this amazing team’s hard work and dedication. Thank you Specsavers.
Calcutta Run
Hilary Kavanagh and Jack Kennedy of the Calcutta Run organising committee also visited Kolkata last week to see the projects supported by the run. 2019 is HOPE’s third year as a charity partner of the Calcutta Run.
Now celebrating it’s 21st year, the Legal Fundraiser has raised €4 million in that time to combat homelessness in Ireland and Kolkata.
The significant funds from the run go towards supporting three of HOPE’s projects: Bhorukha Snehneer Protection Home, Kasba Girls Home and the Emergency Response Unit in Kolkata.
Sinead Flanagan, Rose of Tralee 2019
The newly-crowned Rose of Tralee, Limerick Rose Sinead Flanagan, has had an incredible week in Kolkata with The Hope Foundation. Sinead visited several HOPE projects and was an inspiration for the children she met. With her medical background, Sinead was particularly impressed by HOPE Hospital and the Night Round Mobile Medical Ambulance service.
Every year, HOPE is proud to welcome the reigning Rose of Tralee to Kolkata to witness first-hand the work supported by the Rose Festival. We’d like to thank Sinead for taking the time out of her busy schedule and we wish her well for the rest of the year!
