# Record numbers raise money to build homes

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/24/record-numbers-raise-money-build-homes/
- Published: 2008-11-24T16:45:20+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Two thousand Irish volunteers having raised €1 million will set off for South Africa
this week for the now annual effort to build homes for people living in poverty 
in the townships of Cape Town.

The volunteers with the Niall Mellon Township Trust aim to complete over 250 houses
in the course of their one week ‘building blitz’, providing homes for over 3,000
people in the Cape Town area.

Property developer and founder of the trust, Niall Mellon, said the sixth annual‘
building blitz’ would be the largest to date. Some 700 of this year’s volunteers
have taken part in the project before. The volunteers come from all walks of life,
include all ages and come from right across the country. They include skilled trades
people and senior executives, nurses, doctors, firemen and even a fisherman, Mr 
Mellon said.

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“A large number of our volunteers are from the construction sector. We are deeply
humbled that they have worked so hard this year to raise the target of €5,000 each.
Many of these people have had a tough year personally, some of them have been let
go from their jobs and despite all of this, their determination has shone through
and they have worked extra hard to raise the €5000,” Mr Mellon said.

Some 5,000 volunteers have worked on the annual building project since its inception
in 2002 and the charity has built over 10,000 houses.

www.irishtownship.com

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## Comments

### By: bruceclark

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/24/record-numbers-raise-money-build-homes/#comment-3395
- Published: 2008-11-29T01:48:23+00:00

Er, 2,000 x 5,000 \= 10,000,000 not 1,000,000.

It’s a fabulous fundraising feat. I just question the efficacy of this volunteering
model. Is there a shortage of construction labourers in South Africa? Could local
labour be hired for less than the cost of 2,000 return tickets from Dublin to Cape
Town, accommodation, etc? What message does it send to the local community that 
their homes are built by people from 7,000 miles away? How are the communities housed
by these “blitzes” sustained? What skills and expertise are transferred to the local
population during a week-long blitz?

I do not question the good intentions of the participants, their sponsors and the
NGO – or the entrepreneurial flair of its founder. As a fundraiser, I am dazzled
by the phenomenon of raising 10 million euro in a small country like Ireland. . 
I hope that the long-term benefits in South Africa are just as phenomenal, but that
does not seem apparent.

Bruce Clark