Q. Its 7 years since you started building houses in the Townships in South Africa.
What was it like at the start?
A. Starting anything when you haven’t done it before is always a little daunting but my desire to do something was greater than any fears I had. There were lots of thoughts going through my mind. I suppose ‘Personal Safety’ was high up there, as was ‘risk of failure’. After having seen the living conditions up close I felt connected to the problem. My trip into Imizamo Yethu only lasted about an hour but it really had a big effect on me. I felt I had to do something, anything, and I knew I would feel really guilty doing absolutely nothing. In a way I suppose I felt life had ‘delivered’ for me personally and it was time for me to give something back. The timing of trip coincided with a few things happening in my own life. I was about to get engaged and it made reflect on my own life. I had achieved a bit of success in business but I had always dreamed of doing something meaningful with my success if I ever got it.

Q. How did you get started?
A. I made a commitment about April 2002 and it wasn’t until January 2003 that I actually started construction in Cape Town. It took a number of months of planning and preparation before I could get started. I had only been on a holiday March/April 2002 when I made the pledge to the community leaders in Imizamo Yethu and I now needed to get to know my way around Cape Town. Opening accounts with builder’s providers was difficult as a foreigner with no local track record, and it was a slow and a little problematic process. I wanted this to be a partnership with the community, in order to access the capacity and skills I had to speak to a lot of residents, apart from giving me a good indication of who we had to work with it also gave allowed us all to get to know one another. I was a regular traveller to the UK and I was soon commuting on what felt like and almost weekly basis to South Africa. I had many sleepless nights in the beginning, I couldn’t get the images of the township out of my thoughts, and they are what still drive me today.

Q. When did you make the first appeal for ‘volunteers’ to come from Ireland to help you?
A. I officially launched the charity in Ireland in November 2002 in Dublin and appealed for 150 volunteers to come out in October 2003. I paid for one of the community leaders ‘Kenny Tokwe’ to come to Ireland and he had afternoon tea with President McAleese. I recall she asked him what were the ‘new houses’ going to be like and he stood up, looked around the magnificent settings of the drawing room at Aras an Uachtaran and said ‘Something like this Madam President’!!!. We all laughed but the reality was that the ‘basic decent houses’ that we planned to build really meant that much to him even if they didn’t quite live up to the spec of Aras an Uachtaran. Going on Radio and then TV was much harder than building the houses and it truly took 
me the full 6 if not the full 7 years to finally feel relaxed giving interviews. I prefer putting the spotlight on other people.

Q. When did the project come to the attention of South Africa’s Icons Mandela and Tutu?
A. I can’t remember exactly but I’d say it was 18 months to 2 years after. We got started. I was now married to Nicola and had a little baby boy - Harry and we were invited up to meet Mr. Mandela in his home. I think we had been at a lunch previously with him but this was more personal. We were both nervous even about what to wear and decided to wear what we’d both be happiest in - jeans and T shirt. It was a very special moment to spend that time with him, he loves children and he had great fun playing with our little baby Harry. I kept telling him our little fella had reflux and we had just given him a bottle of milk, but he just kept lifting him up and down...........  I have had the privilege of meeting him several times and the last time I met him personally he spoke with great admiration and affection for the Irish volunteers and Ireland and what is possible when enough people come together - he called it the power of the collective. I feel that I have known Archbishop  Tutu forever and we truly have become good friends. I don’t feel worthy of his friendship but I am really grateful to have it. Notwithstanding his young age of 77 he has travelled around the world on numerous occasions to both Ireland and USA to help me raise money for us to build more houses. I told him one time I was going on my first Late Late Show in Ireland and was dreading it. He said no problem he would come over with me to help and he appeared with me. I love a good joke and a bit of ‘craic’ and both he and Mandela have a great sense of humour in bucket loads. He is deeply moved by that special quality of Irish people to help others.

Q. Did you ever think your ‘call for volunteers’ would reach such numbers?
A. The first 150 was a real struggle. I rang every person I could trying to persuade them and made a decision to make a public call for help in the media. This was a daunting experience for me as but at the right moment the right people seemed to come along to help and my friend Des Cahill from RTE used whatever time he could to plug me on the radio. My PA Rita Piggott and I organised the whole trip ourselves with no proper fulltime staff and I will never forget the first moment the 150 Irish Volunteers marched up the hill 18 months later to help. By that time I had built 100 houses myself and the sight of my fellow countrymen and women marching up the hill to help was undoubtedly one of the proudest moments of my life. One of them said to me ‘Mellon you can make it a 1000 houses now!’. At that point I was just hoping to get through the next 7 days, never mind beyond that. I always say to my volunteers that despite how well the week might be going - it isn’t over ‘till it’s over. So much of our plans for the future depend on a successful trip. I am very proud that we have had over 8,500 volunteers, it really is an amazing amount of people when you consider all the other people they have connected with to raise the money but I will be even happier when we’ve had 10,000!!!  I really believe this is an experience that everyone of us should have in our lifetimes and I never miss an opportunity to recruit new volunteers. I have recruited volunteers from people I have met  in lifts, airplanes and escalators no 
one is safe.

Q. What has been the reaction of the South African government to your charity?
A. They have welcomed this effort from the very start and the money the government is now putting into each house says it all. When I first started each house cost €7k and they put in €1k, now they put in €6k for every house nationally. More than any time since we started there is a renewed energy in the new government led by President Zuma to deliver on housing. I am very optimistic about the next few years.

Q. What about other countries?
A. We have talked about going to another country and I do believe now the time is right. We would have started in another this year if we had the money. I am meeting the President of Tanzania, President Jakaya Mirsho Kikwete, on 2nd November and if we can get the right financial support we are ready to start in another country that needs our help. We intend to have another trip to SA next year and after that we are likely to launch a new programme of volunteer trips to our selected new country.

Q. On a personal note it has been reported that you have been caught up in the Irish Property downturn?
A. Yes. Despite having predicted it and having sold a number of key assets ahead of the property fall, it would be fair to say I am a little financially challenged at the moment but I am doing the best I can to stay afloat and having got through the last 18 months when several of my peers have fallen, I am still standing. After the past 18 months I feel strong enough to tackle any
challenge! I have repeatedly said that nothing that happens in this recession will dent my commitment to helping the poor. I am lucky to have the support of a great many people not least my wife Nicola and my 3 beautiful little sons.

Q. I understand that you shake the hands of every volunteer at the airport arrives in Cape Town, Why?
A. If people can take the trouble to come with me on this mission to help me build houses, it is the least I can do!  I think of the 2,000 volunteers last year I shook 1900 hands, there was only three limp shakes – but these turned out to be tourists in the wrong queue.  As you would expect from the calibre of people on the trip they all hand good firm grips, it was also easy to recognise who the block layers were!.