HOPE Foundation School Immersion Programme Experience
Fifteen students from Kinsale Community School are currently in India taking part in the HOPE Foundation School Immersion Programme, an experience that is proving both eye‑opening and deeply transformative. The group includes Megan Aherne, Claire Boyle, Izzy Cantillon, Caoimhe Foley, Eoin John Harrington, Éilidh Hogan, Annabel Long, Nora Lynch, Kate McCarthy, Lucy McCarthy, Roisin Merwick, Lily Murray, Aoife Napier, Eve O’Connell and Tara Prior.
The students are based in Kolkata, where they are engaging directly with HOPE’s work supporting some of the most vulnerable children and communities in the city. Throughout the immersion, they are witnessing first-hand how education, healthcare, child protection, and community empowerment can create real and lasting change in people’s lives.
During their time in Kolkata, students are visiting a wide range of HOPE projects, including education centres for street-connected children, healthcare initiatives, crèches, vocational training programmes, and community outreach projects in some of the city’s most marginalised areas. These visits are helping students to better understand the complex realities of poverty and inequality, while also highlighting the resilience, warmth, and hope that exist within these communities.
One of the most powerful aspects of the experience so far has been meeting young people whose lives have been transformed through access to education and support. Students are seeing how HOPE’s holistic approach — addressing both immediate needs and long-term pathways out of poverty — aligns closely with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the values of global citizenship promoted in our school.
Alongside the project visits, the trip is also offering rich cultural learning opportunities. Students are experiencing Indian history, traditions, food, language, and dance, gaining a deeper appreciation of a culture very different from their own. These moments of cultural exchange are helping to challenge assumptions, broaden perspectives, and foster empathy and understanding.
In advance of travelling, the students undertook significant fundraising efforts, raising vital funds to support HOPE’s work in Kolkata. This ensures that the trip is not only an educational experience, but also one rooted in solidarity, responsibility, and action.
As the immersion continues, students are already reflecting on how the experience is shaping their understanding of the world, their own privileges, and their role as global citizens. Many have spoken about the lasting impact this journey is likely to have, both personally and in how they engage with issues of social justice, sustainability, and equality when they return home.
The HOPE India Immersion Trip is a powerful example of learning beyond the classroom and reflects Kinsale Community School’s ongoing commitment to global citizenship, compassion, and meaningful engagement with the wider world.
