Niall Mellon, founder of the Niall Mellon Township Trust led 950 enthusiastic Irish volunteers onto site in Wallacedene as part of the charity’s Building Blitz (7th-13th Nov). This makes a record breaking number of 3,500 volunteers working with the charity this year, comprising of 2,000 South African and 1,500 Irish Volunteers.  The teams all kitted out in their designated coloured t-shirts, hard hats and tools were accompanied on site by the sound of cheering and singing from hundreds of delighted residents, all undeterred by the heavy rain. The ‘Walk In’ marks the first day of the week long build, where the charity will hand over at least 200 homes to the people of Wallacedene. There are currently 6,000 families in the township living in shacks with no running water or sanitation.

Niall Mellon said, “Coming to build in Cape Town is the highlight of the year for the charity. We are here to support the South African volunteers who work with us throughout the year. The enthusiasm, warmth and high spirits that greeted each and every volunteer makes for a fantastic start to the week. The people from the township created such a welcoming atmosphere giving the Irish a fantastic start to the Building Blitz.  Despite much uncertainty at home our volunteers have once again proven that no obstacle is too big to keep them from helping others. We brought our hearts, our skills and our traditional Irish weather, but the rain will not dampen our determination.”

The “Building Blitz” is an annual one-week volunteer trip organised by the Niall Mellon Township Trust, in which Irish volunteers participate by building new houses. Dominic Loughran - Director of Operations for the charity explained, “We may be 6,000 miles apart but these are our neighbours. We have proved that by volunteering ourselves we can and have inspired many others to do the same, the success of our Irish and South African volunteer programme is testament to this".
On site in the pouring rain Denis O’Riordan from Enniskeane, Cork who has been a dedicated veteran volunteer coming with the charity since it began in 2002 said, “As the rain pours down through the leaking make shift tin roofs, it brings home to all of us Irish volunteers the sheer awfulness of living in a shack and makes us more determined to continue our building here in partnership with the South Africans. The people are so resilient and always smiling even in these most trying circumstances. The welcome they have shown to all the volunteers is overwhelming. The charity makes such an immense difference to so many of the families here in terms of health, education and living standards.”

South Africa has made huge efforts to house its own people since 1994, by building 2.3 million houses, but there is a housing backlog of 2.1 million houses. For the people in Wallacedene, some of them have waited 20 years to live in a house with a proper roof, running water, sanitation facilities and electricity. The charity will build 1,117 houses in Wallacedene this year.
The Niall Mellon Township Trust is actively seeking volunteers for its October 2010 Building Blitz. For more information please contact the charity on 01-4948200, or visit www.nmtownshiptrust.com.

For further information call Karen Hession, Communications Manager, Niall Mellon Township Trust, SA Tel; 0027 72 1802947.