On Thursday 6th April 5 students from Transition Year headed off with The Hope Foundation’s Schools Immersion Programme to Kolkata India for a 7 day trip to work with the children of the streets and slums in the city. The girls, Eimear Lanigan, Katie O’Flynn, Chloe Griffin, Sally Nagle and Meibh Maher along with Mrs. Siobhan Tobin and her sister Mrs. Fiona Downey had rasied the massive sum of €24,000 outside of school time for the Hope Foundation. They joined many other schools in Dublin airport and headed off.
The trip was an amazing experience for all concerned. The emotional impact of both the poverty and the deprivation was immense. Kolkata, a city the size of Dublin, is home to over 17 million people, many of whom live in a state of dire poverty on a scale we here in Ireland cannot comprehend.
The School Immersion programme is hugely successful due in no small part to the amazing generosity of so many people. These young teenagers are the adults of tomorrow and involvement in this programme creates compassionate, kind, caring and considerate global citizens. This is the 2nd year Scoil Ruáin has participated in the programme. The girls and their parents, the accompanying adult leaders and all in The Hope Foundation thank everyone who contributes to their fundraising in any way. All support given was greatly appreciated.
