In order to travel to Kolkata in India and support the work of the Hope Foundation, Transition Year student Caoilin O’Meara, is commencing a fundraising campaign locally, beginning with a coffee morning in the Fermoy Resource Centre on Tuesday next, August 16th. The event will take place from 11am to 1pm and all are welcome.
Caoilin says the Hope Foundation which is an Irish-registered charity, works with street children in India to give them the help and support they need and deserve in life. As part of her fundraising project, Caoilin aims to travel to Kolkata to witness first-hand the work of the Hope Foundation and to help make a tangible difference to these children’s lives.
“Each year, the Hope Foundation brings groups of secondary school pupils to Kolkata where most of their work is carried out. Here, the pupils get to witness the poverty and poor conditions the street children live in, and I am told that this is a life changing experience as we learn to fully appreciate how lucky we are in the developed world. While in Kolkata, the pupils work with Hope and give a hand in making a difference in these poor children’s lives.”
Given the recent scandal with regard to charity CEO salaries, Caoilin says she first carried out research on the CEO of the Hope Foundation. “To my delight I discovered that Maureen Forster, the CEO of Hope, receives no salary, pension or perks. This deems Hope worthy of support in my opinion,” she says.
As well as at the coffee morning, donations can be made through ‘Go Fund Me’ by visiting gofund.me/caoilinomearahope
