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Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowney to volunteer with charity in India

Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowney has arrived in India for a week of volunteering in the slums of Kolkata
Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowney has arrived in India for a week of volunteering in the slums of Kolkata Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowney has arrived in India for a week of volunteering in the slums of Kolkata

FROM Tralee to India, the winner of this year's Rose competition is embarking on a week of volunteering in the slums of Kolkata.

Chicago native Maggie McEldowney, whose grandmother Brigid O'Neill hails from Maghera in Co Derry, was crowned the 2016 Rose in August.

The 27-year-old had been encouraged to apply for the contest by her grandmother's 100-year-old sister-in-law, Rose O'Neill.

As part of her year as Rose of Tralee, Ms McEldowney will work for the Irish charity, the HOPE Foundation.

She is the seventh Rose of Tralee to be announced as an ambassador for the organisation and has just arrived to Kolkata, India where she will spend the week volunteering for the charity.

She will see first-hand the day-to-day struggles of the children living on the streets and in the slums of Kolkata.

HOPE is a charity supporting overseas development and tackling humanitarian issues in Kolkata and operates more than 60 projects in the country providing 30,000 children with access to education and a further 300,000 adults with access to healthcare and training programmes.

Ms McEldowney will visit the HOPE projects including their child protection centres established to get the children off the streets and into education.

HOPE honorary director, Maureen Forrest said: "Maggie is a fantastic role model and we are delighted she agreed to become an ambassador for HOPE.

"We are thrilled that she accepted our invitation to come to Kolkata and visit the girls and boys in our projects."