Westmeath"s 48 Niall Mellon volunteers ready for the off!

After months of thorough preparation over 2,000 volunteers, including 48 volunteers from Westmeath, are preparing to leave this Friday to work in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa.'This is the largest group of volunteers ever to leave the shores of Ireland, it is an historic occasion', said Niall Mellon, Founder of the Niall Mellon Township Trust. 'It demonstrates the deep commitment of Irish people to help the less fortunate wherever they may be'. The charity has built over 10,000 houses since its inception in 2002.'This would not have been possible without the help of so many Irish people', said, Mr. Mellon. 'In light of the economic downturn in Ireland, I am particularly proud of the effort all of them have made to come on this years" trip. This brings the total number of Irish volunteers who have worked in the Niall Mellon project to over 5,000 since its inception in 2002'.During the week of the 'Building Blitz', the charity has set itself the ambitious target of completing over 250 houses for over 3,000 people who currently live in appalling poverty in the township. The 'Building Blitz' is an annual one-week volunteer trip organised by the NMTT, in which Irish volunteers build houses for families living in abject poverty.Against the backdrop of difficult economic circumstances at home and internationally the charity has succeeded in assembling a volunteer force of 2,000, each of whom had to raise a target figure of €5,000 apiece before going.'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,' said Mr. Mellon.Niall Mellon continued, 'Through the support of many Irish people all over our island we have managed this year, to build 5,000 houses. Our trip lasts only one week but it is an incredible week for all those who come. At the end of this long week hundreds of poor South African families will have homes for life when they had nothing at the start of the week. Every person should make it one of their life ambitions to go on one of these trips and the fact that 878 of this year"s volunteers are veterans of previous trips highlights the life changing nature of the Blitz.'Now active in 23 townships, the NMTT is the largest charity provider of homes for low income families in South Africa and has built more than 10,000 houses since its inception in 2002.Since the NMTT was founded in 2002, more than 5,000 Irish volunteers have participated in the charity"s 'Building Blitzes'.The township of Khayelitsha is located over 30 kilometers from Cape Town and has over 1 million inhabitants. It is the largest township in Cape Town and the third largest in South Africa. The majority of residents have no access to water, electricity or sanitation and it is one of the most marginalized and poverty stricken-townships in South Africa.The Niall Mellon Township Trust was established by philanthropist and property developer Niall Mellon in 2002 and aims to help the deeply impoverished in South Africa achieve the human right of a decent place to live and raise their children. Though the South African government has been actively involved in building some 2.6 million homes since the fall of apartheid in 1994, 2.1 million houses still need to be built.Work by the Niall Mellon Township Trust continues on a year round basis, with 2,000 South Africans employed by the charity, the majority of whom come from the townships in which the charity is building homes and communities. This year-round construction provides much needed employment in the townships in which the NMTT is based, and also follows the ethos of the charity which strives to provide training and skills to people.