Jeremy Irons brings hope to the poor of Kolkata

OSCAR-winning actor and West Cork resident Jeremy Irons has helped raise over €110,000 for the Hope foundation and the work they do in Kolkata.

Jeremy raised an incredible €111,800 after his recent appearance and impassioned plea for help on The Late Late Show, where he also spoke of feeling very much at home in West Cork and of his renovation of Kilcoe Castle outside Skibbereen.

He has been a supporter of the work of Hope for many years and visited their projects in Kolkata during very different times, last November. He was deeply saddened to hear that the children and people he had met in the slums and on the streets had suffered tragedy after tragedy in the past few months, including super cyclone Amphan, which left a trail of human misery in Bengal recently.

Hope’s honorary director Maureen Forrest said: ‘It is an extraordinary testament to the kindness and understanding of the Irish people that we have been able to feed so many families, and now we can continue to do that and give out tarpaulin shelter ahead of monsoon season. We have always been a nation led by kindness and empathy to those less fortunate at home and around the world. We are so grateful to The Late Late Show and to the people who have chosen to give to us, to host fundraisers for us, even in their own time of crisis.’

The foundation was established in Ireland by Irish humanitarian Maureen Forrest in 1999 to help children, their families and the communities in Kolkata.

Twenty one years later, it provides support to over 60 projects including education, primary healthcare, child protection, vocational training and drugs rehabilitation.

With offices in Cork, Dublin, US, UK, Germany and India, the charity also works with local Indian NGOs to rescue thousands of children from the streets and slums of Kolkata.

It is governed by the Dóchas code of corporate governance and Maureen Forrest does not take a salary.