THE 2010 Rose of Tralee, Clare Kambamettu, will make an emotional return to the land of her father when she jets off to India this weekend as a Patron for the HOPE Foundation.

It will be the first time that Clare (26) will visit the country since she was crowned as the Rose of Tralee last August.

Passionate about her Indian heritage, Clare Kambamettu said: “It's my first trip to India in over two years and my first time to visit Calcutta (Kolkata). When I was selected as the 2010 Rose of Tralee one of the first things I decided was to contribute towards ongoing charity work in India seeing as it is such an important part of my heritage. Naturally I was delighted when the HOPE Foundation invited me to be their Patron.”

Before becoming the Rose of Tralee, Clare worked within the field of child and adolescent mental health so this domain is something in which she has a particular interest. In what she expects will be a quite an emotionally challenging trip to Calcutta, the Rose of Tralee will see some of the 60 projects that are run by the HOPE Foundation.

“It means so much to me as it is allowing me to fulfil my wish to make some difference, however small, to the lives of the street children with whom they work. I am looking forward to learning as much as possible about the invaluable work that HOPE are doing in Kolkata. I know that I will feel incredibly uplifted when I see how HOPE are helping the most vulnerable of India's people. My wish is that I will be able to bring their message of hope back to Ireland to encourage more people to get involved in the work they do so that we ensure they can continue to do it,” said Clare Kambamettu.

The Rose of Tralee plays a key role in representing both Tralee and Ireland as an Ambassador throughout the world. Over the coming months she will travel to a number of countries where she will put forward a positive image of Ireland.

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Issued by John Drummey Communications on behalf of the Rose of Tralee International Festival, for interview & image requests please contact John Drummey on 087-7909487 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Notes to editors

Clare Kambamettu’s weekly diary can be viewed at www.roseoftralee.ie in which she details her experiences as the reigning Rose of Tralee.

The 2011 Rose of Tralee International Festival is scheduled to take place from August 19^th to 23^rd 2011.

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