Tipperary TY students spread the message of Hope during their school trip to Kolkata

Transition year students from St Mary’s Secondary School in Newport travelled to Kolkata in India in January with the Hope Foundation Immersion Programme.

The students were: Jack Creagh, Ronan Fitzpatrick, Eva Skehan, Erin Burke, Ava Jones, Aoibhinn McNamara, Emily Sweeney O’Halloran, Emily O’ Brian, Cliodhna Lenihan and Flora Koves, and they were accompanied by their teacher Michelle Flannery.

The trip was at experiencing a cultural and educational tour.

Throughout the year the students each raised €2,500 by means of various events such as table quizzes, bake sales, concerts, online donations, selling Hope chocolate bars, bag packing and car boot sales.

In total over €25,000 was raised for the Hope Foundation.

During the six days they spent in Kolkata they had the opportunity to visit multiple Hope projects such as the residential homes, schools, creches, afterschool programmes, the Hope Hospital the Hope life skills cafe and as well as other services which the Hope Foundation provide vital funding.

When visiting the projects our students got to meet the wonderful students and staff. They played games, sang songs and danced and even picked up some Bengali along the way.

The Hope Foundation’s primary objective is to protect children who live on the streets and in the slums of Kolkata. They saw the amazing work Hope does to provide education to the street-connected and slum children.

They also saw the vital role Hope plays in providing healthcare and education to all street and slum connected communities.
In addition to visiting the Hope projects the students also had the opportunity to experience Indian culture.

They even had a cultural exchange with a local school in Kolkata where they shared some of the traditional Irish songs and dances and in return were taught some traditional Bengali folk songs and dances.

They visited historical sites around Kolkata such as the Mother House, the Victoria Monument, Jain and Hindu temples and in the evenings were treated to aspects of the culture such as learning traditional Bengali dances, dressing in traditional Indian dress, henna mehndis and trying traditional foods.