By Tim Saunders on
The Irish are out to save the children of India, and Hollywood actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers is at the forefront of the campaign. The 31-year-old veteran of 35 major film and television productions has just been named as an ambassador for the Hope Foundation, a charity formed in his native Ireland.
“I’m deeply honored to become an ambassador for an organisation like the Hope Foundation,” said Rhys Meyers during a function earlier this week. “Hope, an initiative started in my native Cork over eight years ago, has provided shelter, medical care, and support to some of the world’s poorest and most mistreated children – the street children of Calcutta.”
The actor intends to visit Calcutta later this year to film a television documentary on the work of the Hope Foundation.
“If I can use my name and celebrity to advance awareness of the great work the Hope Foundation does in some small way, then I am delighted to be able to do so,” he said.
The Hope Foundation, founded in 1999, works with 13 Indian partner groups to take children off the streets, and is actively involved in 57 projects in India designed to improve the quality of life of street children. They are thrilled at Rhys Meyers’ commitment.
“He is committed to visit Calcutta and to do a documentary in Calcutta with the children,” said Hope Foundation official, Maureen Forrest. “He is terribly interested in children’s rights, so he has spoken very positively about trying to highlight the problems with child trafficking and child labor. He is going to be in Ireland for the next four months, so he has also said he wants to work with us as closely as possible.”
Copyright © 2008 Look to the Stars
