March 2015 www.womanthismonth.com 45 WTM: Does that mean going on to the international contest and how did that go? AK: Having won the Bahrain Rose, the next step was to attend the Rose of Tralee Regional Festival which is held in Portlaoise, in Ireland. It’s held every year to determine which Roses will represent their territories at the Rose of Tralee International Festival in August. The event was originally established in 2004 in recognition of the fact that now every county in Ireland selects a Rose and there are now nearly 70 Rose Centres around the world. The Regional Festival is the event established to get this number of Roses down to the 32 who appear on the RTÉ television show in August. I was unlucky not to be chosen as one of the 32 Roses to appear on the RTÉ television show, but the Middle East was well represented by both the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Roses. WTM: What activities have you been involved in as the Bahrain Rose? AK: I worked with the Bahrain Irish Society which does some great work for charities here in the Kingdom. The Irish Society will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and is a great outlet for newcomers to the island. The society raises funds by running different events like the St Patrick’s Ball and the Bahrain Irish Festival and all profits go to charity. I was involved in the Feed the Family campaign where the Irish Society raised enough funds to feed 150 families for the month of June or 13 families for a year. The campaign is run by another charity organisation on the island - the Palm Association - and the Irish Society works very closely with its members on the campaign. I was also involved in another charity called Friendship for the Blind, which helps families with children and young adults who are blind. I was delighted to be involved in handing over toys, gifts and furniture. WTM: Is it something you would recommend to other girls? AK: Definitely. As clichéd as it sounds, I have made friends for life and memories I will always treasure. I had an amazing time at every step of the process from the Bahrain Rose competition through to the Regional Festival where I got to spend five wonderful days with 60 beautiful ladies from around the world, to then attending the International Festival in Tralee, as one of the 2014 Roses. Also, being part of the Rose Family has allowed me to become part of an amazing worldwide network – being able to get involved in great events like the Tralee 10K to fund raise for the Friends of A Charity, attending the RTE New Years Eve Festival as the Bahrain Rose and helping my fellow Roses raise funds for Adi Roche’s Chernobyl Children’s International Fund which a number of them will visit in the coming weeks. WTM: Will you be entering other competitions? AK: I don’t have plans to enter any competitions at the moment…. Well, apart from the odd GAA tournament with my fellow Arabian Celt Ladies. g With escort Tom Hanratty and a young fan Anni with the Irish host Dáithí Ó Sé Anni Kavanagh
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